According to traders, the daily demand of gold at present hovers above 30 kg. But the supply is limited to 15 kg a day.[break]
"Daily demand for gold in Nepal doubles during wedding seasons," said Tej Ratna Shakya, president of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers Association (Negosida). "This time also the demand has increased, but we have been failing to meet the demand."
Short supply, meanwhile, has spurred black-marketing of the yellow metal in the market. Though Negosida fixed gold price at Rs 60,800 per tola (11.664 grams) on Wednesday, some customers said they did not get the yellow metal at the price fixed by the association. They said some jewelers were charging as much as Rs 1,000 higher for a tola of gold than the retail rate fixed by the association.
Negosida´s Shakya admitted that some traders were charging higher price for gold due to shortage of the yellow metal in the peak season.
Bina Ghimire, who was in New Road on the day to buy jewelries for her daughter´s wedding, said jewelers were not willing to take order for new designs. "Citing shortage of gold, they asked me to buy readymade jewelries instead," she said.
Suren Shrestha, a staffer at Surya Bahadur and Sons Jewelry Shop at Wotu, said they were requesting customers to buy readymade gold as they do not have gold in their stock to make new designs.
Nepal Rastra Bank, the central monetary authority, has allowed commercial banks to supply a maximum of 15 kg of gold to jewelers.
According to Shakya, some designated commercial banks could not import gold during Tihar holidays leading to shortage of the yellow metal in the market. "Citing rise in demand, we have been requesting the government to increase gold supply quota. It will be difficult for jewelers to stay in business if the quota is not raised," said Shakya. "Unfortunately, our requests have fallen on deaf ears."
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