Bangladesh's Gold Price Swings Again as BAJUS Cuts 22 Carat to Tk228,031, Just Four Days After Raising It

Bangladesh's gold price has changed direction again. The Bangladesh Jewellers Association cut the rate for 22 carat gold by Tk3,266 a bhori on October 13, bringing it to Tk228,031, just four days after it had raised the same rate by Tk2,216. For anyone trying to time a purchase or sale, the back and forth is becoming the normal state of the market rather than the exception.

• BAJUS cut 22 carat gold by Tk3,266 a bhori on October 13, 2026, to Tk228,031, with 21 carat, 18 carat and traditional gold all falling by similar proportions.
• The cut came only four days after BAJUS raised the same rate by Tk2,216 on October 9, taking it to Tk231,297.
• Silver prices were cut too, with 22 carat silver down Tk117 a bhori to Tk4,199.
• BAJUS attributes each move to shifts in the local price of tejabi, or refined pure gold, rather than to a single fixed formula.

Three weeks, at least three different prices

Tracking the association's own announcements shows a price that has moved in both directions since late September. On September 26, BAJUS set 22 carat gold at Tk232,930 a bhori after a cut tied to softer tejabi gold rates. By October 9, the price had climbed back up, with BAJUS raising it by Tk2,216 to Tk231,297. Four days later, on October 13, it reversed again, falling by Tk3,266 to Tk228,031. Net, the price is down a little over Tk4,800 across those three weeks, but anyone judging by headlines alone could easily have concluded gold was simply getting more expensive, simply getting cheaper, or holding steady, depending on which single day they happened to check.

A bhori, the unit BAJUS and virtually every jewellery shop in Bangladesh quotes against, equals 11.664 grams, slightly more than a standard 10 gram unit used in some other South Asian markets. That distinction matters when comparing Bangladeshi prices to gold quoted per gram or per ounce internationally, since a straight per unit comparison without converting the base weight will produce a misleading figure. For reference, a bhori of 22 carat gold at the new rate works out to roughly Tk19,550 per gram before VAT and making charges are added.

What all four price tiers look like now

BAJUS prices gold in four tiers, and the October 13 cut moved all of them down by a similar share. The table below sets out the new rates against what they replaced.

Gold tier	New rate (per bhori)	Previous rate	Change
22 carat	Tk228,031	Tk231,297	down Tk3,266
21 carat	Tk217,767	Tk220,917	down Tk3,150
18 carat	Tk187,032	Tk189,715	down Tk2,683
Traditional method	Tk152,798	Tk154,956	down Tk2,158

A bhori is 11.664 grams, the standard local unit jewellers quote against, and these rates exclude the 5 percent VAT and minimum 6 percent making charge that apply when a piece is actually bought from a shop. BAJUS said the decision followed a meeting of its Standing Committee on Pricing and Price Monitoring, which reviews the domestic rate for tejabi gold and adjusts the quoted price accordingly. Silver was cut on the same schedule, with 22 carat silver down Tk117 a bhori to Tk4,199 and the other tiers falling by smaller, proportional amounts.

Why the price keeps changing instead of settling

BAJUS does not peg its rates to a single international benchmark updated continuously. Instead, its pricing committee meets periodically to reassess the local tejabi rate, the refined pure gold that forms the base for all four tiers, and adjusts accordingly. That means Bangladesh's domestic gold price can lag global bullion moves by days, then catch up in a single jump, whether up or down, rather than drifting gradually. It also means two changes in the same direction, or an abrupt reversal like the one on October 13, are both plausible outcomes of the same mechanism, not necessarily evidence of anything unusual happening in the broader market.

For jewellers, the frequent revisions complicate inventory pricing and have been cited in past industry commentary as a factor squeezing margins when gold bought at one rate has to be sold after a cut. For ordinary buyers, especially families planning wedding purchases where gold jewellery remains a near-mandatory expense, the swings make it hard to know whether waiting a few days will help or hurt.

What it means for you

If you are planning a gold purchase in the near term, the October 13 cut makes this week modestly cheaper than the first half of October, though still expensive by the standards of early 2026. There is no reliable way to predict whether the next BAJUS revision will be another cut or a reversal back upward, so trying to perfectly time a purchase around these announcements is largely guesswork. A more useful approach is to decide based on when you actually need the gold, for a wedding, a gift, or as a savings instrument, rather than on short term price movements you cannot forecast.

If you are holding gold as a store of value rather than planning to wear it, the three week trend of a roughly two percent net decline is worth noting against other savings options. BD Financial Review's gold price calculator can convert any of these bhori rates into the value of jewellery or bars you already own, and the FDR rate comparison tool is useful if you are weighing a fixed deposit against gold as a place to park savings this quarter.

It is also worth separating the quoted bhori rate from what you will actually pay at a shop counter. The 5 percent VAT and a making charge of at least 6 percent, often higher for intricate designs, sit on top of every one of the rates in the table above, so a Tk228,031 bhori of 22 carat gold translates to meaningfully more once a piece is cut and finished. Shopping around for making charges, which vary far more between jewellers than the base gold rate does, can matter as much as timing your purchase around a BAJUS announcement.