On Saturday, amid light trade due to the holidays and as market participants awaited economic data for guidance, gold prices in Pakistan saw a modest increase.

The price of gold increased marginally by Rs 200 per tola and Rs 172 per 10 grammes, respectively, according to the All Pakistan Sarafa Gems and Jewellers Association (APSGJA), to settle at Rs 177 500 and Rs 152 178.

Prior to that day, gold saw its first significant decline in Pakistan, falling 3,350 rupees per tola to Rs177,300, ending a 12-day run of extraordinarily high increases.

During the week ending December 24, the price of precious commodities increased by Rs4,800, or 2.77%, on a cumulative basis.

Recently, Pakistan experienced days when the price of bullion fell on worldwide markets, but local pricing authorities continued to inflate the price of commodities there despite the metal's high demand and limited availability.

It should be emphasised that the APSGJA notifies the market of the price of gold each day after determining it based on its rates on international markets, the rupee-dollar exchange rate, and demand and supply in domestic markets.

Since December 1, gold prices have increased by a total of Rs16,300, or 10% a tola, raising questions about whether the recent price increases are sustainable or represent an unsustainable bubble.

Analysts theorise that the recent price increase was caused by the lack of the dollar in Pakistan and the expanding gap between interbank and open market exchange rates; nevertheless, grey markets for the valuable commodity have also fueled the assumptions.

While this was going on, silver prices fell by Rs80 per tola and Rs68.59 per 10 grammes, respectively, to end at Rs2,020 per tola and Rs1,731.82 per 10 kilos.

As cautious traders awaited economic data that was scheduled to be released later in the day to determine the Federal Reserve's stance on rate hikes, gold prices were trapped into a narrow range in thin trading on the international market. Prices barely rose by $1 per ounce to settle at $1,798.