Gold prices slip

Gold prices have dropped 3.24 percent since January 22 due to a decline in domestic demand for jewellery and the value of the precious metal in the global market.

The metal is now retailing at Tk 44,506 a bhori, a price level it has reached twice since April 2013.

Jewellers cut the prices of 22-karat gold by Tk 1,492.48 a bhori (11.66 grams), effective from today.

Annual demand for gold jewellery in Bangladesh fell to 16 tonnes in 2014 from 45-50 tonnes in 2004, said Anwar Hossain, president of Bangladesh Jewellery Manufacturers and Exporters Association.

The annual market for gold jewellery is worth around Tk 7,000 crore in Bangladesh, he added.

In the international market, gold prices recently declined by around $40 an ounce (31.1 grams).

“So, we have decided to adjust the prices locally,” said Enamul Haque Khan, general secretary of Bangladesh Jewellers' Samity, a platform of jewellery shop owners.

The price of 21-karat and 18-karat gold dropped by Tk 1,493, and traditional gold by Tk 1,457 a bhori, according to shop owners.

Global gold prices had reached a record high of $1921.17 an ounce on September 6, 2011, according to Bloomberg. Goldman Sachs now predicts that gold will extend its slide and head toward $1,050 an ounce.

In Europe, gold prices fell almost 1 percent yesterday to a three-month low as the dollar rose to a near 12-year peak versus the euro on renewed expectations of a mid-year hike in US interest rates.

In London, gold dropped to $1,155.6 an ounce in early trade, while silver fell to its lowest in two months at $ 15.57 an ounce.

In Bangladesh, recycled gold is the main source for making new jewellery. Manufacturers also buy gold from migrant workers and travellers.

While entering Bangladesh, a traveller can bring up to 100 grams of gold without paying any tax and duty under baggage rules. An additional 100 grams can be brought by paying a tax of Tk 3,000 a bhori.

Around 4,000-6,000 bhori of gold enters Bangladesh a day through legal channels, Khan said.

There are nearly 30,000 jewellery shops across the country, including 2,000 in Dhaka, according to the jewellers' association.

Gold is measured in karat -- the measure of 22 karat means that out of 24 parts, 22 parts are 99.9 percent pure and the remaining 2 parts are other metals. Twenty-two karat gold is less pure than 24 karat gold.