Damascus, Aug. 29 (SANA) The price of a gram of 21-karat gold in the Syrian market fell by 400 Syrian pounds Saturday compared with Thursday, according to a bulletin issued by the General Authority for Precious Metals Management.
The selling price of 21-karat gold stood at 16,300 Syrian pounds ($133.61) per gram, while the buying price was 16,000 pounds ($131.15), based on an exchange rate of 1 US dollar to 122 Syrian pounds.
The selling price of 18-karat gold was 14,000 Syrian pounds ($114.75) per gram, while the buying price stood at 13,700 pounds ($112.30).
The Authority’s bulletin put the global gold price at $4,455 an ounce.
In international markets, gold fell sharply Friday after Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh’s comments on inflation prompted traders to increase bets on a US interest rate hike, Reuters reported.
Spot gold was down 2.9% at $4,567.23 an ounce at 1744 GMT Friday, its lowest level since August 20, while US gold futures for December delivery settled 2.9% lower at $4,529.90 an ounce.
Bullion lost 2.9% over the week, retreating from a more than three-month high of $4,696.18 reached Tuesday.
Warsh said the Fed would have “work to do” if policymakers were not confident that underlying inflation was returning to the central bank’s 2% target, strengthening market expectations that higher interest rates could be needed to curb price pressures.
Traders priced in a 58% probability of a US rate hike in September, up from 36% before Warsh’s remarks, and an 89% chance of an increase by December, according to the CME FedWatch tool.
The dollar also climbed to its highest level in more than a week, adding pressure on dollar-denominated bullion by making it more expensive for holders of other currencies.
Among other precious metals, spot silver fell 3.5% to $66.81 an ounce and platinum declined 0.6% to $1,835.07, while palladium gained 5.3% to $1,422.25 an ounce.
Kh.A / M.F
