Syrian Gold Prices Hold as Global Market Sees Modest Gain

Gold prices in Syria remained unchanged on Tuesday, according to the latest bulletin from the General Directorate for Precious Metals Management. The price of a gram of 21-karat gold stood at 16,250 Syrian pounds ($133.20) for selling and 15,950 pounds ($130.74) for buying. Meanwhile, a gram of 18-karat gold was priced at 13,900 Syrian pounds ($113.93) for selling and 13,600 pounds ($111.48) for buying, with dollar equivalents calculated at 122 Syrian pounds per U.S. dollar.

The global market price of gold was reported at $4,141 per ounce by the Syrian bulletin. On Tuesday, spot gold rose 0.3% to $4,152.04 per ounce by 0909 GMT, as reported by Reuters. This increase was attributed to reduced expectations of a Federal Reserve interest-rate hike in October, which offset a stronger U.S. dollar and higher U.S. Treasury yields. U.S. gold futures for December delivery also rose 0.56% to $4,180 per ounce.

Markets had scaled back bets on a Fed rate hike this month following weaker-than-expected job growth in September and revisions to payrolls data for the previous two months. Traders were pricing a 21% chance of a rate hike in October, while assigning a nearly 70% probability to a rate increase in December, according to CME’s FedWatch Tool. Higher interest rates typically increase the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding gold, making it less attractive to investors.