As gold price has soared to a record high, people are rushing to the jewellery shops to sell gold ornaments to make some quick profits out of the soaring price of the precious metal.

Price of gold, one of the precious metals, has jumped by around Tk 20,000 in the last six months.
Gold is currently selling at Tk 77,216 (22 carat) per Bhori; Tk 74,066 (21 carat) per Bhori and Tk 65,318 (18 carat) per Bhori.

In the international market, gold jumped to a record high on August 6, pushing further past $2,000 an ounce.

The precious metal has soared more than 30 per cent in the global market this year. It is benefiting from heightened uncertainty around the long-term effects of the global health crisis.

The weakening dollar, which fell back towards recent two-year lows, and falling US yields have encouraged investors to look for an alternative store of value-boosting the appeal of gold.

Taking this opportunity, many people are gathering at jewellery shops to sell their gold ornaments and making good profits, sector insiders said, adding that many people are also using the money to cope with the financial losses caused by the global pandemic.

Dilip Kumar Agarwala, general secretary of Bangladesh Jewellers Samity (BJS), said the sale of old jewellery has increased.
On the day of the latest gold price hike on August 6, more than 100 people sold jewelry at various outlets of Diamond World, the jewelry brand owned by Dilip Agarwala.

An official of a private firm melt his old ornament weighing 9.3 bhori and got 7 bhori gold that he bought at Tk 2.13 lakh. At the existing market price, he sold the gold at around Tk 4 lakh and invested the amount in savings bonds.

Dilip Kumar Agarwala said that the existing situation in the global market suggests that the price of gold would go up further.

The traders and customers are in dark about the future price of gold, even who are involved in jewellery business cannot predict the further trend in the gold market.

Dewan Aminul Islam, vice-president of BJS said investors see gold as a safe investment. Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, tensions between the US and China, global stock market volatility and political uncertainty in the Middle East and weakening of dollar have made gold a safer investment option than ever, he said.

He, however, advised on buying new jewellery items with cautious as the gold market is now volatile.

“So buy exactly as your need. Do not buy too much and buy hallmarked jewellery product. Preserved written receipt collected from the trader clearly how many carats of jewellery you have bought.”

Dinesh Pal, a businessman of Tanti Bazar and general secretary of an association of goldsmiths, said gold business has been a bit sluggish in recent years due to high prices.

But the businessmen in the Old Dhaka’s gold hub said the business of old jewellery is quite burgeoning right now.

According to jewellers, sale of the gold has declined around 80 per cent although markets started to open after Eid-ul-Fitr. Some 25 per cent jewellery shops might close if this situation continues for two or three more months, they said.

Bangladesh's annual demand for gold is between 20,000 and 40,000 kgs. About 10 per cent of the demand is met by melting down gold from old ornaments.

Rest 90 per cent is imported through baggage rules as there was no legal way of import. Gold bar import by baggage rules comes down to zero as air connectivity became halted due to coronavirus.

Generally, BJS raises or cuts gold prices by around Tk 1,500 per Bhori. The association raised gold prices by up to Tk 5,715 a Bhori for the last time on Jun 22. The prices rose by up to around Tk 3,000 on Jul 24.