More gold to fly off shelves this season

Gold prices hit an almost six-year high at Rs 32,780 per 10 gram on Saturday, but it did not deter consumers from rushing to buy their favourite piece of yellow metal.

The jewellery industry witnessed increased footfalls on Monday, which is celebrated as Dhanteras, considered to be an auspicious day to purchase gold.

A slew of festive offers — ranging from 50% off on making charges to free home appliances on gold purchase — made it a win-win situation for both jewellers and consumers. The jewellers expect the demand to exceed last year's. In the fourth quarter last year, during which Deepavali was celebrated, the demand for gold was 249.3 tonnes, valued at Rs 66,220 crore. This year, the industry expects around 10% growth over last year's sales.

"We were expecting about 25% less sales during this period because of subdued mood, but to our surprise, we are seeing good sales in the last couple of days. We expect 10% higher sales this Dhanteras compared to last year," Nitin Khandelwal, chairman, All India Gem and Jewellery Domestic Council (GJC) told DH.

According to him, gold prices are likely to shoot up to Rs 35,000 per 10 gram in the coming days due to a variety of reasons including rupee depreciation and higher crude oil prices and wedding season demand.

"Consumers do not mind buying gold at the current prices (Rs 32,000 range), as they are expecting the prices to go up in the coming days," Khandelwal said.

On Monday, gold prices were ruling at Rs 31,840 per 10 gram (standard gold) in Bengaluru, while it was traded at Rs 32,690 per 10 gram, a rise of 6.4% over last year in New Delhi.

The demand for jewellery grew 10% in the third quarter ended September this year at 148.8 tonnes as the price dip attracted bargain hunters. According to data available with the World Gold Council, the demand was firm during the quarter with the five-year quarterly average of 147.5 tonnes.

Also, the gold demand was boosted in early August when the local gold prices dipped below Rs 29,700 per 10 gram, the lowest level since January.

"We have seen positive momentum this Dhanteras, and we are expecting an 8% to 9% increase in revenue over last year based on early data that we have received. The key contributors for this increase is the steady shift of clientele from unorganised to organised players. We expect this trend to continue for the rest of the season," T S Kalyanaraman, chairman and managing director, Kalyan Jewellers, said.

The gems and jewellery market in India is home to more than three lakh players, with the majority being small players. Its market size is about $75 billion as of 2017 and is expected to reach $100 billion by 2025. India contributes 29% to the global jewellery consumption.

"Dhanteras and Deepavali are some of the biggest celebrations in the country and the purchase of gold and/or jewellery is considered auspicious during this time. We are expecting the sales and demand to be favourable and in line with our expectations from this festive season," said Deepika Sabharwal Tewari, associate vice president, marketing, jewellery division at Titan Company Limited.