Gold fails to ‘glitter’ this Akshaya Tritiya

May 10, 2016 12:00 am | Updated 05:43 am IST - MUMBAI:

High cost:Akshaya Tritiya saw many footfalls, but poor sales—Photo: Vijay Bate

High cost:Akshaya Tritiya saw many footfalls, but poor sales—Photo: Vijay Bate

Akshaya Tritiya day, which is considered auspicious for buying gold, did not bring much cheer this time to the jeweller community which recently resumed business after downing shutters for the longest duration in nearly a decade.

High price

According to industry participants, the high price of the yellow metal played spoilsport as consumers appeared sceptical about a further price rise. On Monday, gold was trading at around Rs. 29,800 per 10 grams.

Pegging the overall sales value around Rs. 400 crore, Kumar Jain, vice-president, Shri Mumbai Jewellers Association, said: “There were too many footfalls today, but sales were low compared to last year due to the high prices.” Last year, gold worth over Rs. 700 crore was sold on Akshaya Tritiya.

“Only recently, consumers bought gold at much lower prices and so the desire to buy it at such high prices was low. The rise has been too swift and it always impacts the buying habits,” said Mr. Jain.

Somasundaram P.R, Managing Director - India, World Gold Council, however, says that gold, as an asset, has not lost its sheen and buying activities actually increase when prices rise.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.