Jewellery outlets in Kochi registered brisk sales on Sunday on the occasion of Akshaya Tritiya, a festival which is considered auspicious by many people to take possession of wealth, especially gold. Several branches of banks belonging to the public and private sectors were kept open to sell gold coins.
State Bank of India, Corporation Bank, Bank of Baroda and Federal Bank were among the banks which opened select branches for the special festival sales of gold coins, despite being a Sunday. MMTC, a public sector enterprise as well as a few outlets of India Post also remained open for the sales of gold coins.
Keralites, with a conventional appetite for consumption of gold, welcomed the festival with gusto. Many of the buyers thronged jewellery shops to take possession of items which they had booked earlier.
Most of the shops had operated advance booking counters with a view to enabling easy transaction on the festival day. Though gold is sold on a price that fluctuates everyday, some of the shops came up with an offer to apply the lowest price quoted during the booking period, irrespective of the day of booking.
The escalating price of gold was a matter of concern for the customers as well as the jewellers, but the number of buyers on the festival occasion had been on a steady increase in the recent years. The trend continued this year also, according to the jewellers.
