They are fixing price on their own taking advantage of weak market monitoring by the government. When customers piled pressure on the jewelers to end such market anomalies, they simply brought their shutters down. Jewelry shops in Lahan area have remained shut for the past four days.[break]
Though Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers´ Associations had fixed gold price at Rs 53,000 per tola on Friday, local jewelers were charging as much as Rs 56,500 per tola.
“We can´t sell gold at the price fixed by the federation as we have been facing severe shortage of yellow metal,” Bharat Agrawal, president of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers Association Siraha Chapter, said.
He further added that the existing quota of 15 kg of gold fixed by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) was simply insufficient to meet the market demand. “We are not in a position to resume business until the NRB raises gold supply quota,” he added.
Chief District Officer of Siraha Anil Thakur said limited supply forced jewelry to close their outlets.
Though NRB allows designated banks to supply only 15 kg of gold per day in the market, Agrawal claimed that around 60 kg of gold enters Nepal every day through illegal channel.
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