Gold prices cross Tk 1 lakh a bhori for the first time

Each bhori of gold price in Bangladesh is set to cross the Tk 100,000-mark for the first time as Bangladesh Jewellers Samity (Bajus) has hiked rates of the precious metal with effect from tomorrow.

With the latest hike, the customers will have to pay Tk 100,776 for a bhori or 11.664 grammes of 22-carat gold, up 2.36 per cent from the previous rate. "We have decided to hike the rate as the prices of pure gold has increased in the local market," said Dewan Aminul Islam, vice president of the Bajus.

"Inflow of gold has declined because of the new baggage rules by the customs," he said. The Bajus hiked the prices of gold, used mainly for making jewellery, for the last time on June 7.

The standing committee on pricing and price monitoring of Bangladesh Jewellers Samity announced the new rate today. Gold prices have been rising for more than a year influenced by hike in the international market and volatility in the supply in the domestic market.

Increase in prices of the metal means that jewellry will be dearer further and affect the purchasing capacity of many families. Ganga Charan Malakar, chairman of Venus Jewellers, said his company registered a fall in sales after prices crossed Tk 80,000 each bhori.

"The increase in prices is likely to affect sales further," he said. The spike comes the time when consumers especially low, fixed and middle-income families, saw their purchasing capacity worsened for sustained high inflation.

Inflation in June eased slightly but remained over 9 per cent, according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

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