Ahmedabad: Second wave takes sheen off gold demand

AHMEDABAD: With jewellery stores staying shut for most of May due to restrictions to curb Covid19, demand for gold and gold jewellery took a hit, causing imports of the yellow metal to plunge by 83%, month-on-month, in May. Gold imports stood at 0.59 metric tonnes (MT) in May against 3.54MT in April, according to import data from the Ahmedabad Air Cargo Complex.

Deferred weddings and curbs forcing retail stores to shut caused import of gold to decline drastically. “Weddings are being deferred because people fear a wave of Covid infections. Moreover, shops were shut on Akshaya Tritiya, which is considered an auspicious time and drives gold sales. This hurt demand for gold to a great extent and could be a major factor in imports declining,” said a city-based jeweller.

As gold prices are on the rise and weddings are deferred, demand is expected to remain low-key. “The price of gold stood at Rs 50,900 per 10g on Tuesday and has been edging higher. High prices are a dampener and demand for gold and gold jewellery is expected to remain muted,” said Haresh Acharya, director, India Bullion and Jewellers’ Association (IBJA).

No orders that were previously placed for jewellery were cancelled during the recent round of restrictions and this according to jewellers was the only saving grace.

Courtesy: Times of India