Currencies Advance But Gold Retreats
EghtesadOnline: Foreign exchange rates continued to rise Tuesday in Tehran’s open market extending an ascending order that started on Saturday.
The dollar was choppy reaching above 286,000 rials early in the day before retreating later to settle at 285,600 rials up 0.6%. The greenback has surged more than 1% since the beginning of the trading week in Iran on Saturday.
Other currencies too followed suit. The euro gained 0.22% or 730 rials and was worth 321, 300 rials. The UAE dirham was the best gainer at 77,550 rials rising 0.7%. The UK pound sterling rose slightly adding 0.08% or 320 rials to buy 381,900 rials.
Along with the upsurge in the open market, prices rose at the CBI’s exchange bureaus affiliated to Central Bank of Iran. The dollar was worth 263,120 rials at Melli Exchange up 0.2% or 470 rials on Monday.
In the regulated market, where currencies are traded wholesale, the greenback was unchanged at 265,790 rials.
The regulated market is a spot market operated by a network of banks and certified moneychangers dealing in wholesale currency. It functions under the CBI.
Despite the higher forex rates, gold pulled back impacted mainly by trends in the international markets.
The popular Emami gold coin lost more than 0.5% or 650,000 rials Tuesday to close at 124.85 million rials. The Half Bahar Azadi coin dropped 0.8% to trade at 64 million rials and one gram of 18-karat gold was sold for 12.35 million rials, down more than 1.3% or 162,000 rials, the Tehran Gold and Jewelry Union website said.
Gold fell below the key $1,800 level on Tuesday in global markets as the dollar and bond yields firmed with expectations that US interest rates will rise next year, shored up by the renomination of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, Reuters reported.
Spot gold fell 0.5% to $1,795.97 per ounce after hitting its lowest since Nov. 5 at $1,792.00. US gold futures dropped 0.6% to $1,796.30.