May 5: The month of Baisakh (mid-April to mid-May) is the season of marriage. However, in this marriage season, the price of gold set a new record in the domestic market of Nepal on Thursday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers Association, the price of gold rose by Rs 1,200 per tola to Rs 111,800 on Thursday. Prior to this, the price of gold had reached the maximum limit of Rs 111,000 per tola on April 5.

Gold and silver traders said that with the increase in the price of gold in the market, there are more customers selling gold than buying. They said that despite the wedding season, more people are selling gold than buying it.

Rajan Adhikari, who works at New Road-based Riddhisiddhi Jewellers, said that with the increase in the price of gold, more customers have come to sell their gold. He said that there is no rush of customers to buy gold as before due to the economic recession and the rising price of gold.

“Now people have come to a situation where they are more focused on consuming basic items than buying gold. On top of that, the price of gold is constantly increasing. Due to the increase in prices, customers are opting to sell gold rather than buying it,” he said.

According to him, it was difficult to meet the market demand due to the quota system. He said that the traders who used to sell gold up to 50 to 60 tolas a day in Magh and Falgun are now barely able to sell 10 tolas.

Manik Ratna Shakya, former president of the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers Association, said that since the price of gold has increased in the international market, it has also affected the Nepalese market.

“In my opinion, it is likely to increase further. Although it is the wedding season now, there is no rush in the market like in the past,” he said.

He said that there is a daily demand of 35 to 40 kg of gold during the season. He added that when the government imposed a daily quota of 10 kg on gold, it was difficult to meet the demand during the season. But now, it is not even possible to sell the gold that has been bought.

How much did the price increase in a year?

In the last year, the price of gold increased by Rs 14,600 per tola. According to the Federation, the price of gold on this day last year was Rs 97,200 per tola. Since then, the price of gold has fluctuated a lot.

The price of gold declined to it lowest at Rs 91,300 on June 18 last year. Similarly, the price of gold has been continuously traded at more than Rs 100,000 per tola since December 18 last year.

Similarly, the price of silver has also increased by Rs 155 per tola in one year. The price of silver, which was Rs 1,290 per tola on May 4 last year, has reached Rs 1,445 per tola on Thursday.