KARACHI, Sept 21: Gold prices touched new peak of Rs9,022 per 10 grams on Wednesday owing to rising trend in international prices. As a result, the price of 10 tola piece (also called biscuit or bar in gold trade) surged to Rs106,000 as compared to Rs95,000 a few days back.

The ten gram gold price had gone up by Rs424 per ten grams in the last 15 days as it was priced Rs8,598 on September 6.

Many families on a gold hunt for their daughters’ marriage these days are now bound to take a costly ride by paying more now as compared to 15 days back. The marriage season is in full swing these days before Ramazan. The next season would begin after Ramazan and Eidul Fitr in November.

International gold prices have been under pressure since hurricane Katrina has hit the US, resulting in mass killing of people. As a result, the greenback has also been losing its strength against various currencies.

Immediate past chairman of All Pakistan Gem Merchants and Jewellers Association (APJMJA), Akhtar Khan Tessori linked the above factors as the chief reasons in escalating the yellow metal in world markets which make an immediate impact on the domestic prices.

In world markets, gold buying usually gathers momentum when any untoward incident takes place as the precious metal is considered as a safe heaven in hard times all over the world. International bullion rate has been hovering over $470 per ounce as against $430-440 per ounce some 15 days back, he said.

In sharp contrast to world markets, the Pakistani market is considered the most difficult one as it is hard to analyze the negative and positive impact on domestic sales of gold and the jewellery. It has been noticed that whenever global gold rates fluctuate, conflicting claims, relating to sales and demand of gold, come from the association’s members and even from the non-members.

It is also hard to give an actual figure of yearly or monthly gold consumption and sales in Pakistan as gold traders have different point of views. Besides, the gold trade is also not fully documented.

To ascertain the impact of rising prices on domestic sales, Akhtar Khan pointed out that sales are going fine because of on-going marriage season, but it cannot be termed highly satisfactory or a booming sales in this season.

People buy gold. Gold has a unique sentimental attachment with human being (women) both for its lustre and its rising value. Old family members (aged mother, grandmother, etc) have kept alive an old tradition of handing over the jewellery sets and gold bars at the time of marriage of their blood relations’ daughters. Families with liquidity problems now find it difficult to buy jewellery sets in larger numbers but they definitely buy the sets at any cost though in lesser quantities, he said.

However, he said for the last few months, people have started investing more in gold like property or real estate -– the yellow metal has the history of paying off in the long run. He said that people, who have enough liquidity, are buying 10 tola gold piece or less than 10 tola bar. He said that investment in gold biscuit had been going on for the last few years in anticipation of further rise in prices.

He said that currently gold imports have been suspended for the last five to six days owing to frequent rise in international gold rates.

Akhtar Khan said that no new player has come up for setting up gold shops and outlets. Only those people were investing that have been in this business for decades.

Former Chairman APGMJA, Raisuddin Shaikh offered a different view, saying that people were not investing in gold bars as their food budgets have disturbed due to frequent increase in prices of essential items.

“People do not have extra money due to their very meagre incomes as against burgeoning daily expenses which do not allow them to think of procuring gold,” he said. Besides, there is also a problem of security in the city. Many women have started preferring in wearing artificial jewellery these days instead of original gold jewellery because of security concerns outside the marriage halls and lawns.