On July 15, the central government announced a cut in import benchmark prices amid signs of cooling in gold, silver and edible crude oil prices.

According to a statement released by the Ministry of Finance, the base import price for gold was cut by $37 per 10 grams and silver by $3 per kg.

With this reduction, the base import price of gold fell from $585/10g to $548/10g. The statement noted that the new prices would apply to imported gold bars other than Tola bars, marked with the manufacturer or refiner’s serial number and weight in metric units.

The base import price per kilogram of silver imports has dropped to $611 from the current $614. The government said this would apply to any form of silver, except for medals and coins that are at least 99.9% silver.

The centre also lowered its base import price for crude palm oil to $1,171/ton from $1,401/ton. The RBD palm oil base import price has dropped from $1,482/ton to $1,346/ton.

The import base price of CPO has dropped from $1,545/ton to $1,358/ton. The price of RBD palm oil has dropped from $1,548/ton to $1,361/ton.

The government also lowered the import base price of crude soybean oil to $1,460/ton from $1,572/ton.
The decision came as commodity prices cooled, which increased after Russia invaded Ukraine, disrupting supply chains.

The recent decline in commodity costs also comes at a time when several economies face the threat of recession. Central banks worldwide have also raised interest rates to curb rising inflation. Experts say that, in turn, has adversely affected global commodity markets.