Gold, Jewellery Sales Spurt Up To 30% On Dhanteras

Gold and jewellery sales were up 30 per cent this Dhanteras, with jewellers across the country recording brisk business on the auspicious day on the back of favourbale price and a good monsoon.

Dhanteras is considered to be an auspicious day for buying gold, silver and other valuables and is largely celebrated in North and West India.

P N Gadgil Jewellers Managing Director Saurabh Gadgil told PTI that good monsoon, pent up demand of the first half of this year which was affected by jewellers' strike, stable gold prices and long weekend were mainly responsible for the positive consumer demand.

World Gold Council (WGC) MD Somasundaram PR said, "The physical demand is good with good footfalls, which is 30-50 per cent more than last year during this Dhanteras.

"Consumers are back in the market and retailers are all geared up to meet this demand. The level of activity only shows that things have come back to normal in trade as well as at the consumer level," he said.

P C Jewellers MD Balram Garg said, "We are seeing 20 per cent jump in volume and 30 per cent in value terms. The growth is higher in value terms as prices have gone up in the last one year."

This is a conservative estimate, but sales could cross this level, he added. P C Jewellers has around 70 retail outlets across the country.

Waman Hari Pethe Jewellers Director Aditya Pethe said looking at the footfalls the sales this year during the festivals are likely to be 20 per cent more than last year.

"The sales have picked up since the last 15 days and we are expecting 20 per cent growth compared to last year. Rs. 30,000-35,000 ticket size is pushing more this year, especially for wearable jewellery. Marriage jewellery are also in demand as the season will begin from December and this year there are more dates than last year," he added.

Gold prices today fell by Rs. 110 to Rs. 30,590 per 10 grams in the national capital. However the prices were 16.6 per cent higher than Rs. 26,230 on Dhanteras day in 2015.

Silver traded at Rs. 42,700 per kg as compared with Rs. 35,410 per kg last year.

Kalyan Jewellers Executive Director Ramesh Kalyanaraman said, "The advance booking for jewellery is up by 20-25 per cent compared to last year."

"Prices are lower when compared to last two months. Prices are more or less stable now and also demand has revived in view of the good monsoon," he said.

MMTC-PAMP India President (Marketing) Vipin Raina said, "There was robust demand for gold and silver coins as also bars this time as prices are at favourable levels."

"People are buying for investment purpose. We expect 15-20 per cent increase in sales from over the last year," he added.

All India Gems and Jewellery Trade Federation Chairman Sreedhar G V said according to reports coming from across the country northern region has done extremely well and the sales are estimated to have "20-25 per cent more than last year".

"Overall, the retail sales are expected to be 15-20 per cent more than last year. But, looking at the footfalls, we are expecting 20-25 per cent growth in the north. The growth in the south is likely to be around 10-15 per cent compared to last year," he added.

The investment demand today is likely to be 2-3 per cent more than last year, that for light weight jewellery 15-20 per cent more and diamond 5-10 per cent more than last year, he said.

However, RiddhiSiddhi Bullion Traders Managing Prithviraj Kothari said the sales are likely to be 30-35 per cent less than last year due to the government rule of PAN card on purchase of Rs. 2 lakh and over.

"The government policy on compulsory PAN card for purchase of Rs. 2 lakh and more of jewellery and bullion has become negative for the industry and may result in 30-35 per cent less sales compared to last year," he added.



Source : Gold, Jewellery Sales Spurt Up To 30% On Dhanteras

MMTC ties up with major banks to retail gold coins

Public sector major MMTC has joined hands with HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Andhra Bank to retail gold coins with a new buyback option.

Besides its own outlets across the country, MMTC has tied up with Indian Overseas Bank, Vijaya Bank, Federal Bank and YES Bank to sell gold coins in denominations of 5 gm and 10 gm coin and 20 gm bar.

MMTC has also announced a transparent buyback of gold coins made of recycled gold. It will repurchase the gold coins if they are given back intact in the same tamper-proof packaging with the original invoice at MMTC outlets. Gold coins will be bought back at the prevailing gold price, providing much needed liquidity for customers buying Indian Gold Coins, MMTC said in a statement on Thursday.

With the new partnerships, the network selling the sovereign gold coin will touch 300 outlets during Dhanteras - an auspicious occasion to buy gold - that falls on Friday.

Launched last year, the Indian Gold Coin has the national emblem Ashoka Chakra engraved on one side and Mahatma Gandhi on the other side. Hallmarked by the Bureau of Indian Standards, the 999 fineness coins are of 24 karat purity and are minted by the India Government Mint in Mumbai and Kolkata, said MMTC.

Ved Prakash, Chairman and Managing Director, MMTC, said in the last one year of the launch of the Indian gold coin, seven leading banks in India have started retailing the coins and would partner more banks soon to widen the distribution.

The purchaser of the gold coin would not only contribute towards the country's economic growth but also aid in recycling gold through the transparent buy-back option available at MMTC showrooms, he said.

Prithviraj Kothari, Director, RiddiSiddhi Bullions, said gold and silver prices were likely to remain subdued this calendar year as the dollar strengthens against major global currencies, besides a host of other weak fundamentals acting against precious metals. With some intermittent volatility, he said, gold may touch $1400 an ounce by December-end, translating to Rs. 30,050 per 10 gm in India.

The gold import bill fell to a decade-low of $7.2 billion in the first six months of this year, according to Commerce Ministry data.

Gold demand has been lacklustre so far this year as consumers expect prices to fall further.

"A price level of Rs. 28,500 per 10 gm will provide a good opportunity for buyers," he said.

However, the fall in global gold prices may not reflect in India as the rupee is expected to depreciate proportionately against the dollar, he said.