‘Demand of gold & silver affected as traders were confused due to volatility’
Most customers stayed away from jewellery shops in the city during Gudi Padwa due to high rate of gold and silver. “Not only that the demand of gold and silver has been affected but even traders are confused due to volatility,” said Nitin Khandelwal, a former director of All India Gem and Jewellery Domestic Council. Both gold and silver are being traded at a discount of close to ₹2,000 as against the market prices.
This discount is calculated on the basis of the landed price of gold or silver after adding customs duty and GST and the sale price. A discount indicates a low demand.
The Council has issued guidelines for the business-to-business movement of
gold. Carriers have been asked to keep a delivery challan, photo id, certified
stock statement and other documents. Yet the election vigil has
left an impact on the movement, said traders.
Messages are doing rounds of stocks being seized while in transit. Even if the
entire stock is accounted for, it is difficult to corroborate if the bullion
seized during transit is part of the same inventory. It can be proved but until
then the gold remains seized. At times multiple bullion traders send their
stock with a single courier which also leads to difficulty in accounting, said
a market source.
Rajesh Thakkar, an Akola-based wholesaler trader dealing in silver ornaments, also confirmed a muted demand due to the high prices. It takes time for the consumers to adjust when the prices rise. The buyers prefer to
wait till a correction. However, demand resumes if the rates settle at the new high.
“An investor in gold in the last 10 years stands to gain by ₹42,000 per
tola. The rates may have gone up but demand remains to be stable with good Gudi
Padwa buying,” said Rajesh Rokde, vice-president of Gems and Jewellery Domestic
Council.
Pradeep Kothari of M/s Karan Kothari Jewellers said the footfalls were
favourable even if there might have been a slight impact on sales in terms of
weightage. A discount of close ₹2,000 is not much. There have been times
when traders have sold at a discount of ₹3,000 a tola, he said.
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/