Gold prices in Sri Lanka rose sharply on Monday as the international price climbed to USD 4,325 per ounce, with local rates jumping Rs. 6,000 from levels recorded at 9:00 a.m.
A 22-carat sovereign was quoted at Rs. 360,600 in the Colombo Sea Street bullion market by mid-morning, Ada Derana reported. The 24-carat sovereign — which stood at Rs. 386,000 on Saturday (13 June) — rose to Rs. 392,000, market sources said. Newswire’s price round-up from the Colombo Pettah market carried the same headline figures and confirmed the Rs. 6,000 intraday move.
The day’s gain extends a sharp post-Avurudu rally that has lifted local bullion alongside a stronger global price, as the international market has pushed past USD 4,000 amid sustained safe-haven demand. The earlier post-Avurudu rate of Rs. 282,000 a sovereign — recorded in mid-April when international gold was trading around USD 3,300 — has been overtaken by a cumulative price climb of more than 38% in roughly two months.
The latest jump comes within hours of a Fitch Ratings note on the Central Bank’s new directive capping gold-backed loans at 70% of collateral value, and as ratings agencies and analysts have flagged that volatile gold prices were one of the explicit reasons cited by the CBSL for tightening lending against bullion.
The pawning sector, traditional jewellery retailers and licensed gem and jewellery exporters are the most directly exposed segments to local bullion price moves, while the household balance sheet effect of higher gold prices has been one of the factors driving credit demand against pledged jewellery in recent months.
Sources: Ada Derana — Gold prices rise sharply in Sri Lanka amid global surge; Newswire — Gold prices surge in Colombo Market amid global rise.
