Gold prices soar to record-breaking Rs369,000 per tola
KARACHI: Gold prices in Pakistan have saw an extraordinary journey from 1947 to 2025. The precious yellow metal, once available at just Rs57 per tola at the time of independence, has now soared to a record-breaking Rs369,000 per tola.
In 1947, gold was priced at Rs57 per tola.
Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, gradual increases were observed, crossing Rs100 by the late 1950s and reaching Rs176 by 1969. Despite periodic fluctuations, the overall trend remained upward.
The 1970s marked a transformative era. Economic upheavals and political instability propelled gold prices sharply upward, reaching Rs432 per tola in 1973 and soaring to Rs2,250 per tola by 1980. Although the 1980s witnessed occasional dips, global inflation and market instability kept prices generally on the rise.
During the 1990s, gold prices hovered between Rs3,000 and Rs6,000 per tola. The trend shifted dramatically after the 2008 global financial crisis, with gold emerging as a safe-haven asset, climbing to Rs23,500 per tola by the end of that year.
From 2010 onwards, gold experienced a steep surge. In 2011, prices crossed Rs50,000 per tola for the first time. During the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, gold breached Rs100,000 per tola, reflecting global uncertainty and local economic pressures.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Recorder
27 minutes ago
- Business Recorder
Post-budget presser: ‘Have to get money from somewhere to provide relief somewhere', says Auranzgeb
Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Muhammad Aurangzeb on Wednesday addressed the concerns of stakeholders regarding the budget for fiscal year 2025-26 presented before the National Assembly (NA) a day ago. Addressing the media persons, Aurangzeb maintained that the income tax levy for the salaried persons earning between Rs600,000 and Rs1.2 million annually is 2.5%. 'Because every number is locked, so we have to get money from somewhere to provide relief somewhere,' he said. 'This is a work in progress.' During the budget speech, Aurangzeb proposed halving the income tax rate to 2.5% for the salaried persons earning between Rs600,000 and Rs1.2 million annually. However, it is important to note that there was a discrepancy between the rate announced during the speech and the rate stated in the Finance Bill — the latter sets the tax at an even lower 1% for this income bracket. The finance minister reiterated that the government remains committed to issuing the inaugural Panda bond during this calendar year. 'We do want to access the euro and US dollar market, we anticipate entering these markets in 2026, certainly not during this calendar year, as we need to achieve a certain rating,' he said. Aurangzeb said that the tariff reform mentioned during the budget speech 'is very significant' for the country and will enhance the country's exports. 'Out of a total of 7,000 tariff lines, the government has decided to eliminate additional customs duty on 4,000 of them,' he said. Fiscal space limited Aurangzeb said that the government wanted to provide maximum relief to the salaried class, but added, 'The reality is that we can only offer as much relief as our fiscal space permits.' The country's tax-to-GDP ratio has reached 10.3% in the current fiscal year. 'In FY26 we intend to increase it to 10.9%,' he said. 'We need enabling amendments and legislation to plug leakages in the system, so the government doesn't have to resort to additional taxation measures of around Rs400-500 billion,' Aurangzeb said. The finance minister noted that the government expenditure has increased by 1.9% this fiscal year. 'We have not imposed any additional tax on the agriculture sector,' he said. The government will provide soft-term loans to small farmers. The finance minister noted that the government expenditure has increased by 1.9%. Meanwhile, Finance Secretary Imdadullah Bosal clarified that the increase is limited to critical needs. Surcharge on Electricity Bills On reports regarding the imposition of a 10% surcharge on electricity bills, Chairman FBR, Rashid Mehmood Langrial, clarified that no additional surcharge has been imposed. Responding to a query on how the federal government could delink population from the National Finance Commission (NFC) award, Auranzgeb maintained, 'Everything will be done in consultation with provinces.' Responding to a query on why the government maintained the minimum wage at Rs37,000, Aurangzeb said the decision was made in consideration of industrial growth. On the imposition of 18% tax on solar panels, Langrial explained that the GST of around 16-18% was imposed on less assembled solar panels, whereas there was no GST on imported fully assembled solar panels. 'The local manufacturing was at a disadvantage. We want to create an enabling environment for the local sector,' the FBR chief said. Responding to a query, Imdadullah Bosal informed that the budget figures are 'locked with the International Monetary Fund (IMF)'. Govt salary increase Bosal stated that the budgeted increase in government salaries—from 6% to 10%—would have a fiscal impact of approximately Rs28–30 billion. He informed that the Ministry of Finance will hold consultations with the defence ministry regarding the introduction of a contributory pension scheme. Earlier, reporters staged a boycott of the press conference after the government failed to hold a scheduled technical briefing on the Finance Bill. Ruckus ahead of post-budget press conference Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif-led coalition government's Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Tuesday presented the federal budget 2025-26 to the parliament, with a total outlay of Rs17.573 trillion, targeting a GDP growth target of 4.2% against 2.7% in the outgoing year. Aurangzeb termed the budget the start of a strategy to create a competitive economy and economic productivity to increase exports and fundamentally change the economy's DNA. The government has set an inflation target of 7.5% for the next fiscal year. Regarding the fiscal deficit, the government projected a target of 3.9% of the GDP — or Rs5,037 billion — from the outgoing fiscal year's target of 5.9%. The primary surplus is targeted at 2.4% of the GDP against the budgeted 2% in the current fiscal year, which has been revised to 2.2%. More to follow
Business Recorder
5 hours ago
- Business Recorder
World Bank projects 3.1pc GDP growth rate for Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: The World Bank has projected GDP growth rate for Pakistan at 3.1 per cent for the next fiscal year 2026 compared to the government's target of 4.2 per cent. The bank in its latest report, 'Global Economic Prospects', projected GDP growth rate at 2.7 per cent for the current fiscal year – down by 0.1 per cent from earlier projection of 2.8 per cent in January 2025. In Pakistan, growth is estimated to have inched up to 2.7 per cent in fiscal year 2024-25 (July 2024 to June 2025), from 2.5 per cent in the previous fiscal year, with modest expansions in both agricultural production and industrial output. In Pakistan, growth is expected to strengthen to 3.1 per cent in fiscal year 2025-26 and 3.4 per cent in fiscal year 2026-27. With inflation contained and borrowing costs declining, industrial and services activity is forecast to firm, and business confidence is anticipated to continue improving owing to reduced domestic policy uncertainty. However, projected growth will remain subdued, reflecting still-high—though easing—real interest rates and fiscal consolidation intended to mitigate vulnerabilities and rebuild policy buffers. In Pakistan, headline inflation fell below 2 per cent in early 2025, the report noted. Inflation in Pakistan is expected to increase amid strengthening demand, the report added. The report further noted that in Pakistan, an increase in the merchandise trade deficit in April largely reflected a sharp decline in exports, which was in part attributable to increases in U.S. import tariff rates in early April. Credit growth has increased in Pakistan and Sri Lanka, accompanied by recovering domestic demand and lower policy interest rates. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Business Recorder
5 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Banks to act as WHT agents: ‘Digital levy' introduced in Pakistan
KARACHI: The federal government has introduced 'Digital Transactions Proceeds Levy' along with necessary changes in Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 to cover domestic vendors supplying digitally ordered goods and digitally delivered services. Banks and courier services have been designated as withholding agents to capture entire payment chain. According to budget proposal for the next fiscal year (FY26), all online marketplaces, payment intermediary and courier service will be required to file a statement to Commissioner sharing data of sellers involved in digitally ordered goods and digitally delivered services. As per new measurers online marketplace will also be responsible to get registered all sellers using their platform in e-commerce. In addition, in as significant shift aimed at tightening tax compliance across the booming digital market places, bank and other financial institution will now responsible for collecting sales tax on digital transactions. Is the budget changing how government views e-commerce? The federal government has introduced the definition of 'e-commerce' to broaden the tax net to include all online transactions, whether paid via digitally or cash on delivery (CoD). Aimed to better incorporate digitally ordered taxable goods into the e-commerce sales tax framework, the definition of 'e-commerce' has been introduced, and 'online marketplace' is redefined to include all taxable activities. Currently, online marketplaces are required to withheld 1 percent sales tax on local supplies made by non-active taxpayer vendors. However, this does not fully capture the growing e-commerce sector, especially businesses using websites, apps etc for online sales to consumers. To address this, the withholding tax scope has been expanded to cover transactions settled via online payment or CoD. Under the proposed regime, substituting S. No. 8 of the Eleventh Schedule, payment intermediaries including banks, financial institutions, exchange companies, and payment gateways will collect sales tax on digital payments, while couriers will handle tax collection for CoD transactions. Additionally, the government has also proposed to double the withholding tax on e-commerce transaction. Withholding tax rate is set to increase from 1 percent to 2 percent. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
