Full Analysis Summary
2025 precious metals surge
Global precious metals have surged sharply in 2025, with gold and silver posting extraordinary gains as investors sought safe havens amid market turbulence.
Le Monde reports that precious metals are surging as investors seek safe havens amid turbulent markets, noting gold was trading near a record around $4,320 per ounce (it hit $4,381 in October) and had risen more than 60% since Jan. 1, 2025.
Silver reached an all-time high ($66.89/oz on Dec. 17) and has almost doubled since the start of the year.
These global price moves form the backdrop for any central-bank gold-asset changes.
However, the provided Kathmandu Post snippet only identifies a reporter's background and does not itself report on Nepal Rastra Bank's balance-sheet figures, leaving a gap in direct local confirmation of a 71% year-on-year rise in NRB gold holdings.
Coverage Differences
Tone and specificity
Le Monde (Western Mainstream) gives specific market data and attributes the move to investor flight to safety, whereas Kathmandu Post (Other) in the provided snippet does not present reporting on central-bank holdings and only supplies reporter background. Le Monde's coverage is data-driven and global in scope; the Kathmandu Post material available here does not supply the local institutional data that would confirm an NRB 71% YoY rise.
Gold reserves and reporting
Central banks often increase gold reserves when bullion prices climb or when macroeconomic uncertainty rises because gold is traditionally a safe-haven reserve asset.
Le Monde's reporting on the dramatic price appreciation underscores why central banks might expand holdings during 2024–25, and it explicitly links investor nervousness and speculation to the rally.
The Kathmandu Post snippet does not include NRB's balance-sheet numbers or an explicit report on reserve changes, so a claim that Nepal Rastra Bank's gold assets rose 71% year-on-year cannot be fully corroborated from the provided material.
Coverage Differences
Missed information / Omission
Le Monde (Western Mainstream) explains market drivers (investor nervousness/speculation) and gives detailed price statistics, suggesting plausible reasons central banks might increase gold reserves. The Kathmandu Post (Other), in the available excerpt, contains no figures about Nepal Rastra Bank's gold assets; thus the local confirmation or NRB's own explanation is missing from the supplied sources.
NRB gold increase analysis
If Nepal Rastra Bank's (NRB) gold assets rose 71% year-on-year, such an increase would be consistent with exceptional bullion-price appreciation documented by Le Monde, since sharp price gains inflate the market value of existing holdings even without large new purchases.
Determining whether the 71% change reflects revaluation, fresh acquisitions, or both requires NRB-specific data on purchase volumes, accounting treatment, and timing.
The Kathmandu Post excerpt provides no NRB figures, and Le Monde concentrates on global prices rather than country-level central-bank balance sheets, so these sources alone cannot clarify the exact drivers of any NRB increase.
Coverage Differences
Narrative focus / Scope
Le Monde (Western Mainstream) emphasizes global price movements and investor behavior, which can explain valuation-driven rises in central-bank gold assets. The Kathmandu Post (Other) snippet does not present NRB statistics or analysis. Thus Le Monde provides context that could explain a 71% valuation increase, while Kathmandu Post's supplied content does not confirm or contradict NRB-specific numbers.
NRB Gold Claim Review
Le Monde's coverage of the global gold rally offers plausible, market-based reasons (revaluation and/or purchases) for a central bank's gold assets to jump by a large percentage.
The provided Kathmandu Post snippet does not include Nepal Rastra Bank figures or local reporting necessary to confirm the claimed 71% year-on-year rise.
Based strictly on the supplied sources, the NRB increase remains unverified here.
Verifying the claim would require NRB's official balance-sheet release, a detailed Kathmandu Post or other Nepali outlet report citing NRB data, or central-bank disclosures.
The available sources are limited to a global commodities report (Le Monde) and a short Kathmandu Post personnel snippet, so conclusions about NRB must be tentative and labeled unconfirmed.
Coverage Differences
Missed information / Verification gap
Le Monde (Western Mainstream) provides the global market context that supports why central-bank gold asset values could surge. The Kathmandu Post (Other) snippet does not provide the NRB data or reporting necessary to verify the 71% YoY claim. The two supplied sources therefore differ in scope (global market data vs. no NRB figures), and the verification gap is material.