Gopal Prasad Kafle, executive director of NRB, said gold dealers and traders purchased gold and silver at Rs 32,231 and Rs 585 per 10 grams respectively.
The central bank had fixed the minimum price of gold and silver at Rs 31,465 and Rs 567 per 10 grams respectively.[break]
“Thirty-four traders bought gold, while 30 purchased silver through auction on the day,” Kafle said.
The central bank has so far sold 209 kg of gold and 2.03 tons silver through three auctions. NRB started selling gold and silver to traders to control black marketing and ease shortage of the precious metals in the market following ban on gold imports. NRB has been selling 100 kg of gold and one ton of silver every Tuesday from its stock of one ton of gold.
The government decided to impose blanket ban on gold import, after the import of the precious yellow metal crossed Rs 41 billion during fiscal year 2009/10, causing a huge trade deficit. The ban soon spurred shortage of precious metals in the market leading to unjustifiable price hike.
Meanwhile, the price of gold remained stable at Rs 32,600 per 10 grams in the domestic market on Tuesday. Similarly, the price of silver also remained unchanged at Rs 586 per 10 grams.
Tej Ratna Shakya, president of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers´ Association (Negosida), said fluctuation in the price of gold in domestic market is due to international bullion market, which has been affected with the fluctuation in the value of US dollar.
Gold price increased from $1,328 per troy ounce to $1,340 in the international bullion market on Tuesday. Price of gold in international market has been climbing as US dollar is weakening against the Euro.
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