Nepal gold price whipsaws as central bank runs out of Dhanteras coins
Gold rose Rs 13,300 per tola on 5 November 2026 and fell Rs 5,900 the next day, while the central bank sold out of its gold coins in a single day.
On 6 November 2026, Nepal's central bank told buyers that its gold coins were gone, though silver medallions stayed on the counter.
Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the central bank, began its pre-Tihar sale of gold and silver coins on 5 November 2026. By the close of the first day, the stock of gold asarfis, small coins bought as festival keepsakes and savings, was exhausted. In the same two days the domestic gold price rose by Rs 13,300 per tola and then fell by Rs 5,900.
A coin counter that emptied in a day
NRB sold 4,500 gold asarfis on the first day, a figure that includes purchases by its own employees. Each coin weighs 2.5 grams and sold for Rs 65,400. Buyers were limited to one gold coin each, plus up to two silver medallions of 10 grams at Rs 3,800 apiece.
NRB has sold coins on Dhanteras in past years. In 2025 it could offer only silver medallions because gold was short. This year it bought 35 kg of gold from commercial banks to bring the asarfi back.
Spokesperson Guru Poudel said the suspension followed procedural complications and administrative hurdles, which used up the limited stock available for sale.
On 6 November 2026, NRB sold only silver medallions, at a revised Rs 3,700 each.
Source: Online Khabar
Two days, two sharp moves
The Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers' Association raised the hallmark price by Rs 13,300 on 5 November 2026, to Rs 288,900 per tola from Rs 275,600. It was the biggest single-day gain in recent trading, according to Himal Press. On 6 November 2026 the price fell Rs 5,900 to Rs 283,000. Silver followed the same path, rising Rs 265 to Rs 3,920 per tola and then falling Rs 110 to Rs 3,810.
The moves came after an uneven stretch. On 25 October 2026, the first trading day after the Dashain holiday, gold fell Rs 11,700 to Rs 278,500. It recovered to Rs 283,500 by 29 October 2026, then fell to Rs 280,300 on 30 October 2026 and to Rs 272,000 on 1 November 2026, a drop of Rs 8,300.
Source: Himal Press; Online Khabar; Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers' Association
An imported price
Nepal meets all its gold demand through imports, so the domestic price follows the world market. Spot gold rose 1.9% on 5 November 2026 to $4,134.83 an ounce, its highest since 22 October 2026, after a 3.4% gain on 4 November 2026. A weaker US dollar and falling US Treasury yields supported demand.
The domestic benchmark rose from Rs 275,000 to Rs 275,600 on 4 November 2026, the day of the larger global gain, before the Rs 13,300 step on 5 November 2026. That sequence suggests the local rate can lag world moves and then catch up at once, though the sources do not say so. The fall on 6 November 2026 has no stated cause.
For a retail buyer the consequence is practical. A family buying on 5 November 2026 paid close to the high of the period. One buying on 6 November 2026 paid Rs 5,900 less per tola, though the central bank had no gold coins left for them.
Why it matters beyond Nepal
Nepal is a clear case of an import-dependent economy facing a seasonal rush: the price arrives from abroad, and the central bank can only dispense what it has procured.
What to watch
Watch whether the dealers' federation keeps moving its benchmark in large daily steps when international prices swing. And watch the US dollar and Treasury yields, which will help set the next move in Kathmandu.
How this story was made: researched and written by The Standard’s desk with AI assistance, from the published reporting and official data credited below, and checked against those sources. Our standards.
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