City witnesses unprecedented ‘gold rush’

Yellow metal sinks further, oscillates around the Rs. 2,630 per gram mark

Buyers with wads of currency notes await their turn as they stand in long queues to purchase gold biscuits and coins at a jewellery shop in the city on Tuesday. -Photo: Mohammed Yousuf

As the prices of gold continued to sink further, several jewelleries in the capital — especially those in the Old City — witnessed heavy rush on Tuesday.

Shops at Siddiamber Bazaar, Afzalgunj and Begum Bazaar teemed with customers as news came in from the bullion markets. Shopkeepers were even forced to maintain a queue and issue tokens to customers.

Brisk sales continued throughout the day in shops dealing with bullion trade even as gold prices fluctuated around the Rs. 2,630 per gram (24 carat) mark as against a price of Rs. 2,850 a gram earlier this week.

Investment option

Gold merchants said most customers bought gold as an investment. Some others were still adopting a wait-and-watch policy, hoping for more correction in prices, fall they said. They maintained that jewelleries were witnessing such heavy rush after almost a decade and this was not the case even during the last Akshaya Trithiya.

No takers for ornaments

Twin Cities Jewellers Association Joint Secretary Ashok Kumar Gupta said people had bought gold biscuits and coins and not ornaments. The sale of ornaments has not improved despite the reduction in price. Sales might go up during the next couple of weeks as several marriages were scheduled in May, he added.