UNB, Dhaka :
Gold has a special place in people’s lives not only as an ornamental commodity, but also as a valuable resource and store of value. Its worth therefore extends from the individual to the state level.
No matter how expensive the paper currency is, its foundation of trust is shaky. People prefer buying gold regarding it as a valuable asset for the future.
Investing in gold is reliable. So everyone wants to save it as an asset. In countries of the region, including Bangladesh, gold has become an ‘essential’ commodity at the time of marriage.
Of course, the rich are forced to go to the gold shops to protect their social status. But year after year the rise in gold prices has reduced the number of buyers going to the store. Middle-class and low-income families are under great pressure to maintain social norms.
The quantity of a bhori (11.66 gram) of 22 carat gold that could be bought for Tk 150 in 1971, now costs more than Tk 73,000. A first-class government official can no longer afford to buy even half a bhori of gold with a full month’s salary.
In 1972, the year after independence, the price of gold was Tk 160 per bhori. Since then, the price of gold has increased by almost 460 times in the last 50 years.
At present, 22 carat gold is being sold at a price of Tk 73,458 per bhori, 21 carat gold is being sold at Tk 70,309 per bhori, 18 carat gold is being sold at Tk 61,564 per bhori. The fixed price of gold per bhori as per traditional method is Tk 50,895.
In the last one year, the price of gold in the country has increased by several times adjusting with the global market rate, said Dilip Kumar Agarwala, general secretary of Bangladesh Jewellers Samity.
Talking with UNB, he said the gold price has increased like other things and Bangladesh has no gold mine, all of the demand for this valuable matter is being met by importing.
Agarwala also acknowledged that people of fixed income group are shifting their choice from gold due to the higher price, or buying less.
Even in 2008, the price of gold in Bangladesh was limited to Tk 25,000 per bhori. Now its price has jumped to Tk 73,458.
Over the last 11 years or so, gold prices almost tripled. As a result, there is a natural pressure on the buyers. Vendors say their sales have dropped to one-third.
The use of gold as an ornament has decreased. People are no longer giving gold ornaments as gifts to their loved ones at weddings, birthdays or any other occasion.
Some families are suffering from a financial crisis to meet the demand for gold for weddings.
In many cases, the value of the bride in the family depends on the weight of the gold jewellery taken from the father’s house, said Tahmina, a resident of Rampura area, who went to Bashundhara City of the capital to buy gold jewellery.
