Karachi:
The foreign currency reserves of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) decreased by $ 72 million, reaching $ 14.23 billion, mainly due to the reimbursements of the external debt scheduled, according to the data published by the Central Bank on Thursday.
Meanwhile, net currency reserves held by commercial banks remained stable at $ 5.26 billion, which raised the country’s total foreign reserves at $ 19.50 billion. In addition, the Pakistani rupe registered a marginal gain against the US dollar, appreciating 0.04% in the interbank market. At the end of the trade, the local currency closed to 282.56, marking an improvement of RS0.11 from the closing of the previous day in 282.67.
In the World Front, the US dollar weakened in front of the main currencies amid the growing expectations of interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve and concerns about the increase in political influence in key US institutions. The US labor market is maintained in focus, particularly after the disappointing non -agricultural payroll data of last week, which contributed to the decrease in the dollar. At the same time, the euro won ground before the peace conversations scheduled next week aimed at resolving the ongoing conflict of Russia-Ukraine.
Meanwhile, gold prices in Pakistan increased, tracking a strong upward trend in the international market where the yellow metal rose to a maximum of more than two weeks. The global demonstration was fed by the safe demand after the last tariffs of the president of the United States, Donald Trump, entered into force and the soft job data strengthened the expectations of cutting of interest rates. In the local market, the price of gold per tola increased by RS2,900 to settle at RS362.200, while 10 grams of gold had a price of RS310,528, which reflects a daily increase of RS2,487, according to the Association of Gems and Jewers of All Pakistan Sarafa.
The increase follows the increase of Wednesday of RS1,300, when the price per tola reached RS359,300. The interactive director of the basic products, Adnan Agar, attributed the continuous volatility to “the intensification of the global tariff war”. The international market reached a maximum of $ 3,397 and was stopped at $ 3,385, with a minimum of $ 3,365. “If gold closes above $ 3,400, the following objective could be around $ 3,440-50,” he said.
“While the tension continues, whether with India, Russia, Europe or Japan, we hope that gold will remain volatile. There is a strong fluctuation in prices and the trend could persist over the next months,” Agar added.
Worldwide, Spot Gold won 0.6% at $ 3,388.09 per ounce from 0956 am et (1356 GMT), after reaching its highest level from July 23 before the session. US Gold Futures added almost 0.7% to $ 3,455.60, according to Reuters.
In addition, the Central Bank of China added gold to its reserves in July, its ninth consecutive month of purchases, according to the official data on Thursday.
China’s gold reserves increased to 73.96 million ounces of Troy at the end of July 73.90 million ounces at the end of June. The gold reserves of the country were valued at $ 243.99 billion at the end of last month, compared to $ 242.93 billion at the end of June, according to data from the Popular Bank of China.
