Today Gold Rate

'Hallmark' Tag is a must for Jewellers Selling Gold, Export Items Exempt

Only the registered jewellers can sell jewellery and artefacts made of gold and they can sell gold only with a ‘hallmark’ tag from the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). A hallmark tag indicates the purity of gold products.

The ministry of consumer affairs issued a notification with the proposal to practice control order for sale of all the items made from precious metal, which are over 2 grams and are for domestic consumption.

The notification says that the new standards will mandate the retail sellers to get certification and get a hallmark tag on their gold items before selling them to the end-users.
6th Aug 2019

Gold Prices Escalated Globally, at an All-Time Higher in India

Gold has recovered the lustre a long period of time on the back of soaring pressures between the United States and Iran, the trade war in progress and calm stance of the central banks.

The metal has reached a record of Rs. 34,470 every 10 gram, the profit of more than Rs. 200, in New Delhi on June 24. Gold was closed at a price of Rs. 34,588 along with the future market prices recommending an economic rise. Gold charged Rs. 34,700 on MCX, pointing an upswing from the existing levels, with the trackers of commodity market anticipating the prices to rise northwards from some time.

Globally, gold hit USD 1,439.7 per ounce on Tuesday. This is the maximum level ever since September 2013, with a weaker dollar to lend additional support.
26th June 2019

Demand of Gold Drops Down by 10% as the Prices Touch 14-month High

Demand for lustrous metal has been faded by 10% last fortnight as the prices of gold touched 14-months high last Friday. That was at Rs. 33, 014 every 10 grams. This price excludes Goods and Service Tax (GST). Lower demand of the metal has resulted in gold being available @ a discount of USD 8-10 every troy ounce in the gold market at the Business to Business (B2B) level. This has grown up from USD 5 a week ago. The discounts offered on gold rises when the demand for the metal goes down.

In the beginning of this month, gold was made available for Rs. 32,305 every 10 grams, and resultantly grew to touch the highest on June 14. The price was more than Rs. 34,000 every 10 grams and this includes GST. On Monday, this week, it was trading at Rs. 32, 955 every 10 grams. However, various bankers like Shekhar Bhandari – the Vice President of precious metals at the Kotak Mahindra Bank gave his verdict that it is likely to grow by around 3 per cent in the near future.
18th June 2019

India’s Gold Import Market Sees 49% Growth!

India's gold import market sees a growth of 49% as compared to last year, which is 116 tonnes. This happens due to the price lower price during a key festival called Akshay Tritiya that boosted the retail demand for gold.

India is the world’s second-largest consumer of this precious metal, where higher gold imports could support global prices. As per the source, the country’s imports value rose to $4.78 billion in May from $3.48 billion last year.

Indians believe that buying gold during this festival is auspicious, thus local gold prices fell to the lowest level in 5 months, prompting the jewellers to stock up inventory.

In June, gold imports are expected to fall below 80 tonnes as prices will rise in the global market. The consumption of Gold in India in the year 2019 is 750-850 tonnes. It was 760.4 tonnes last year, a 10 year’s average of 838 tonnes, as estimated by the World Gold Council.
4th June 2019

Lowest Gold Demand Reported Due to Price Surge; All Hopes on the Lunar New Year

The gold prices stood unstable at the beginning of 2019 as the prices soar to their highest level in 2.5 years, since July 2016. Due to high prices, the demand was also low. While sellers across Asia held hopes to price stability in the Lunar New Year.

The local gold prices touched the highest point in India, which is the 2nd largest gold consumer across the world. And the prices are increasing day by day. While the merchants across the country are waiting for a correction in the rates and a moderation in the duty cuts in this year’s budget.

Also, the bullion industry has been anticipating a reduction in taxes to oppose smuggling that has been increasing since import duty was raised to 10 percent by India in August 2013. The industry takes into consideration the duty cuts every year before the releasing of the budget by the government. But in the past 6 years, there hasn’t been any change in the tax structure.

Merchants in India were providing a discount up to dollar 7 an ounce over official domestic prices this week, up from last week's discount of dollar 6. 10 percent import tax is included in the domestic prices.
26th April 2019

Gems & Jewellery Sector Strive for Reduce Import Duty on Gold To 4%

All India Gem and Jewelry Domestic Council also request the PAN card limit to be increased to INR 5 lakh from INR 2 lakhs.

The gems and jewelry Council has asked to reduce the import duty on gold to 4%, cut and polished gemstones and diamonds to 2.5 percent. It has also sought a relaxation of credit standards for working capital requirements in the budget 2019.

Anatha Padmanabha, Chairman of All India Gem and Jewellery Domestic Council, in a letter to the finance minister said the 10 percent gold import duty was imposed to curb CAD/Current Account Deficit. Pramod Kumar Agrawal, Chairman of the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council also urged the government to reduce the import duty on cut and polished gemstones and diamonds from 7.5 percent to 2.5 percent. He further added that in June 2017, India's trade deficit reduced to $ 12.96 billion, and the increased gold import duty has given rise to the grey market.

He also recommended that the PAN card limit should be increased to Rs. 5 lakhs. There are lesser than 50% PAN card holders in India and making it essential for the purchase of gold items/jewelry above 2 lakh rupees is difficult for rural buyers. Most of them do not have it and some of them are reluctant to share it.

Meanwhile, Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council also insisted the government alter the income tax regulations allowing the foreign mining companies to trade raw diamonds through the special notified zone. The GJEPC has also sought a conducive banking environment for gems and jewelry exporters by relaxing the credit norms. Moreover, it seeks a GST of 0.25 % on the input services (the certification and work-related services) and gains benefits of inverted duty structure to such services also.
19th April 2019

Rural Demand for Gold likely to grow this Akshaya Tritiya

Gold sales in the villages of India might raise this Akshaya Tritiya. This is because of the targeted farm welfare schemes are likely to aid in enhancing the discretionary expenditure on the lustrous metal, customarily the preferred store of the value in the hinterland.

Market analysts have a belief that the financial aid under Kisan Samman Nidhi Scheme must leave farmers with handsome cash that they can use to purchase gold in the festivities. The preferred stores of the value of Rural India are land and gold. The senior analyst (commodities) at the HDFC Securities, Mr Tapan Patel said, “We can have an expectation of higher rural demand for the precious metal due to the recent populist measures taken by different State and the Central governments that have boosted rural and farm income.

Akshaya Tritiya is on May 7 and rural India purchases the precious metal ahead of this event on the receipt of sale profits from crops grown in winters. Hence, the local prices generally remain calm in this season.
11th April 2019

Top Ministerial Group to Meet to make Gold an Asset Class

India is going to organise an inter-ministerial group meeting this week on making gold an asset class. This move aims to reduce the dependency on imports by amplifying the distribution of around 25K tonnes of the lustrous metal lying in the form of coins or jewellery.

The asset class status would give the Indians the chance of capitalizing gold and making it as liquid as the stock of any listed firm. The work is being carried out by the government to have India gold delivery standard, just like the gold, which is certified by London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) - the standard setter for the metal in the world.

This meeting of top ministerial is about to take place in the capital city of the country – New Delhi. A key role has to be played by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) in making the metal as an asset class.
8th April 2019

Gold Bullion is Rising: A Global Slowdown Tensions Predict a Better Future for the Metal

Contradictory news and macro data have kept the market of commodity volatile in the recent past. The good and the bad news thing have turned the market a better hunting field for the traders.

In the middle of the market volatility, the allure of gold as a safe refuge has only brightened up. The yellow metal registered the second weekly profits, having logged 3% for this year. Even though the prices ended the week off the highs, but the lustrous metal held on to the crucial initial support level, a better indication, which prices have a few headroom on the upside in the shorter term.

Concerns over the global slowdown, especially in the United States of America, which reported lethargic economic numbers over USA-China trade tensions have been the key reasons behind the renewing the interest in gold of the investors. In the previous week, the dollar index correct almost 0.16% on Friday, one of the biggest weekly falls in a month.
24th Feb 2019

Gold Imports Drops by 5% During April-January to USD 26.93 Billion

The gold imports of the country dropped about 5% in value to $26.93 Billion during April-January 2018-19. This was anticipated to keep a lid on the existing account deficit.

As per the data by commerce ministry, total imports of the lustrous metal in the corresponding FY stood at $2823 Billion.

The industry experts and gurus said that the softening prices of the lustrous metal in the markets of the world could be one reason for the contraction of the imports.

After recording the negative growth for 3 consecutive years – October 2018, November 2018, and December 2018, the gold imports increased by 38.16% to $ 2.31 billion in January 2019.

India is one of the leading importers of the precious metal in the world, and the imports chiefly look out of the demand from the jewellery industry. Jewellery and gems exports also have fallen by 4% to $32.9 billion during 10 months of the existing fiscal year.

The current account deficit (CAD) of India, i.e. the difference between the outflow and inflow of the foreign exchange in the existing account, has grown to 2.9% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the 2nd quarter of the financial year, against 1.1% in the previous year, due to large trade deficit.
17th Feb 2019

Gems & Jewellery Sector, India to Introduce Reduced Rate of Gold Import Duty

Gold import duty has witnessed a reduced rate of 4% in cut and polished diamonds. Import duty of cut and polished gemstones have reduced up to 2.5%. form a current rate of 7.5%. In his letter to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, the Chairmen of All India Gem and Jewellery Domestic Council (GJC), Anatha Padmanabhan notified 10% import duty on jewellery made of gold to limit current account deficit (CAD).

Due to the increased import duty on gold, te grey market has seen a rise, despite India’s trade deficit narrowed more-than-expected to USD 12.96 billion in June 2017. He also suggested an increased limit for PAN card up to Rs 5 lakh from Rs 2 lakh. However, the number of PAN Card users in the country is not even 50% of the population and making it mandatory for purchasing gold jewellery above Rs. 2lakh seems to be difficult especially in case of rural areas, where most of them do not have one or reluctant to share it.

He further requested the government to allow 5% of the FOB value of exports of cut and polished diamonds to be re-imported duty-free in the previous licensing year.

GJEPC also urged the government to enable mining companies in abroad to deal with rough diamonds via particular notified zone. It also asked for a favourable banking environment for exporters of jewellery and gems, in regards to reducing credit norms for the requirements of working capital.

The Chairman & Director of Kalyan Jewellers T. S Kalyanaraman also is hoping for an uplift in optional consumable spends due to the newly introduced income tax slab to Rs 5 lakh. This will contribute spending more on precious items like gold and jewellery or other consumables, he said.
29th Jan 2019

One-Rupee Gold Entices Indians as the Sellers Look for Boosted Demand

Indians who buy gold for as less as one rupee as retailers provide online sales in small proportions to hold up wincing demand in the second-largest consumers of the world.

Gold demand is declining, to a certain extent as a result of the measures taken by the government, fading appeal of the lustrous metal among young consumers, and higher local costs. This is forcing the jewellers to get used to carrying out online purchases to appeal to more internet freak, youthful population of the country.

“Many people have been purchasing at just one rupee,” said the Managing Director of the Digital Platform SafeGold, Mr Gaurav Mathur. SafeGold has joined hands with various payment apps such as PhonePe of the Flipkart Online Services Private to sell the gold starting at this price. “This is a low-risk means to try this product.”

Buyers of gold only get the physical delivery of gold once they pay enough for one gram of the metal, at present around Rs. 3,200. The low barriers of entry, compared to the least purchase of one gram in the conventional market, and even faster transaction that can be made on phone in just about 40 seconds, are the major entices for the product, Mr Mathur said.
18th Dec 2018

Gold Buyers of India Notice Prices Surge at the Time of Diwali

Gold buyers in India, the second largest market after China, might give jewellery stores a miss at this time of festivity this year due to surging domestic prices to the highest level in over two years.

Metals Focus Ltd. Analyst, Chirag Sheth, in Mumbai said Gold has climbed in the local markets due to a weak in rupee, and increasing prices before the Diwali and Dhanteras celebrations are not good for demand. ‘Overseas spot bullion has shown the signs of getaway in the past two-three days. If this thing continues, it is going to be a constraint,” he added.

Dhanteras, falling on November 5, is the most auspicious and favourable day of the year to purchase gold. Dhanteras falls just two days before Diwali. It s believed that gifting or wearing of gold jewellery is meant to bring good fortune and prosperity during the weddings and celebrations. The final quarter of the year is the season of crowning demand, with the Indian citizens purchasing about 240 metric tons on an average in the past 4 years, as per the World Gold Council.

Bullion future on Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd has scaled 9 per cent in the current year, which is the highest since July 2016, whilst overseas bullion has fallen 6 per cent.
17th Oct 2018

Sluggish Demand from Jewellers Decreases Gold Rates

On Tuesday gold prices declined by Rs. 100 to 31,450 per 10 gram owing to slack demand by the jewellers. However, the yellow metal performed well overseas. Silver continued to be steady at Rs. 37,950 per kg, due to continuous demand from the industrial units and coin manufacturers.

As per the traders, the fall in gold demand from the jewellers and retailers lead to the downfall of gold prices in the Indian market. However, the metal is trending well in the international markets. Singapore saw a rise in gold price by 0.07% to $1196 an ounce and silver by 0.28% to $ 14.20 an ounce.

In the capital city, 24 (99.9%) carat and 22carat (99.5%) gold shed Rs. 100 each to Rs 31,450 and Rs 31,300 per 10 gram, respectively. In the sovereign states, the rate remained unchanged at Rs. 24,500 per 8-gram gold. On the other hand, the silver rate was trending at Rs 37,950 per kg, while the weekly rate rose by Rs 80 to Rs 37,405 per kg.
11th Sep 2018

Rise in Import of Gold may Dent Banks’ Market Share in India

There may be a rise in the gold Dore imports of India to a record in 2018 on lesser import duties. This increase can lead the bullion refiners of the country to eat away at the gold market’s share held by the banks.

The Secretary of the Association of Gold Refineries and Mints, James Jose, quoted that the imports of a semi-pure alloy, also known as, Dore - made by miners, may rise from 250.6 tons to 300 tons the current year. He quoted this in on the India International Gold Convention’s sidelines, in the southern part of Kochi.

Jose reported Reuters; the total gold imports of India may fall to approximately 750 tons in the year 2018 that would increase the share of Dore imports to around 40%. As per the World Gold Council reports, 917.7 tons of gold was imported in the year 2017 to India (world’s second largest gold consumer).

The increasing imports of Dore reduced the share of refined gold supplying banks in the market such as ICBC Standard, UBS, JPMorgan, HSBC, and Scotia bank.

“Because of duty advantage, the share of Dore is increasing in the market. Bullion players must continue to drop market share,” said ICBS Standard Bank’s commodities strategist, Marcus Garvey.
06th Aug 2018

New Brand Campaign Launched by Kundan Gold Refinery

Kundan Gold Refinery, a prominent name among Indian gold refineries, recently launched a new brand campaign. The campaign’s purpose is to highlight the brand’s commitment towards providing its customers with quality services and to promote Kundan as the ultimate choice for customers seeking fashionable jewellery.

Though this campaign, the company aims to shift the customers’ focus to the importance of buying the right jewellery at affordable pricing rather than blindly following the conventional routes of buying expensive items. The new ad campaign encourages the customers to replace traditional gold jewellery gifts with Kundan coins.
22nd May 2018

India Gold Discounts Shoots to Maximum in Last 2 Months

Due to sluggish demands, gold discounts this week have rocketed to their highest levels in the last two months. Indian dealers are offering a discount of up to 4 USD an ounce over and beyond the official domestic prices, which is the best available discount since March 24’2018.

Jewellery showrooms have been forced to slash the prices due to lower footfall. The demand is expected to remain subdued unless Indian rupee fall sharply. Meanwhile, China is remains the top consumer due to improved gold demand in the country with a premium of 8-9USD per ounce over the benchmark price.
19th May 2018

Global Gold Demand Sees its Worst in the Q1 Since 2008

According to the WGC (World Gold Council) report released on Thursday, 03rd May’18, the global demand for gold has reached its lowest since 2008. The comparison was done on the basis of the gold’s performance in the first quarter of a year.

The fall in the gold’s performance was largely due to the drop in gold-bars and gold-backed ETFs (Exchange-Traded Funds) investments.

The good thing is, although the demand was low for gold in the first quarter in rest of the world, China has witnessed an encouraging level of growth in its gold sale.

Countries like the US and Europe have also maintained a steady inflow into gold ETFs, even if it is a much slower pace compared to the last year.
3rd May 2018

Wedding Buzz Lifts Gold Prices By Rs 225 To Rs 32,450

Even though the demand of gold is facing a crisis, it experienced a surge by Rs 225 to Rs 32,450/10 grams in the national capital. The wedding season has upped the demand for the domestic jewellers. Thanks to bullion traders who have attributed to the recovery in gold prices.

Furthermore, weakening of rupee against the dollar has also influenced the surge as it has directly influenced the imports, making it costlier. Sovereigns are, however, being traded at previous level of Rs 24,800/piece for every 8 grams.

Additionally, due to the increased offtake by the coin makers and industrial units, the silver too, has recovered by Rs 200 to reach Rs 40,700 per kg.
25th April 2018

Gold Performs Best Since 2011

The year 2018 comes with numerous reasons for gold bulls to be delightful. The third quarterly gain of bullion is wrapped the highest rate in years, an achievement that not seen since 2011. The demand for safe-haven asset may increase with the foreign-policy of Washington.

Despite showing a little change on price at $1,325.17 an ounce on Thursday, gold bullion rose to 1.7% and saw a gain of 1.8% in the last three months of 2017. This change has happened due the interest rate imposed by US govt.

The price of gold has regained as President Trump’s govt. indulges in a series of trade fights. The investors worry about this face-off, which started from Wall Street and spread across the world. Though the geo-political tension with North Korea may be lessening, Trump’s decision of appointing John Bolton as new national security adviser has created conjecture of a probable risk in the oil market, as it draws a tough line against Iran.

As per a date presented by Bloomberg, the investment in bullion-backed exchange-traded products has increased up to some thousands of metric tons this month, which is the highest since 2013. Hoard has also witnessed a rise of around 43 tons. While the global stocks saw quarterly fall since early 2016, the dollar dropped by almost 3% since December 2017. Other valuable metals are also seeing changes in the rate, like 4% fall is noticed in gain of Silver, Platinum is about to collect the second quarterly gain, while with 8.7 percent fall, Palladium is set to embrace the highest quarterly loss since 2015.
29th March 2018

Global Gold Rate Hikes due to US-China Face-off

The price of gold saw a hike on Monday as the price of the dollar dropped due to the growing concern of a trade-related tension after China imposed extra tariffs on certain US products. The gold rate went up 0.5% to $1,331.19 per ounce. The gold futures rose by 0.6% to $1,334.90 an ounce. However, gold price dropped by 1.7% last week. Despite the drop in gold price, investors were optimistic and a rise in the rate was predicted. The rate of this precious metal rose by 1.7% between January and March 2018, securing its third direct quarterly gain.

Yuichi Ikemizu of ICBC Standard Bank (Tokyo) said that the probability of trade war getting worse had compelled the people to sell dollar and buy gold.

As a reaction to import duties imposed by the US govt. on aluminium and steel, China imposed 25% extra tariff on certain US products which include fruits, nuts, wine as well as frozen pork.

Other precious metals that witnessed changes in the rate as well. Silver by 0.8% to $16.45 per ounce, a rise of 0.8% to $935 per ounce was witnessed in Platinum trading. On the other hand, Palladium trade saw a drop of 0.1% to $950.55 on Thursday, to its lowest level in some time.
27th March 2018

Lower Gold Import Duty and Set Jewellery Parks: Says Niti Aayog Committee

In its recent meeting, Niti Aayog Committee suggested a lower import duty on gold and advised the centre to encourage local manufacturers by setting up jewellery parks or by making mining feasible. It has been suggested as a step forward in the direction of “financialization” of gold’s holdings in India’s market.

Headed by Ratan P Watal, Aayog principal adviser, this committee has also accentuated the need of setting a regulatory body to head the gold industry in India and has made 84 recommendations under 20 heads. The committee is hoping that these recommendations are implemented within 3 months to 1-year time limit.

To make the MSME sector an organised sector, it has suggested some tax policies, which will help in this migration. The committee said that it is achievable only by rationalising the import duties on gold doré and gold, which in return will eliminate the arbitrage charge in India and international gold rate, and thus, will dis-incentivise smuggling. The committee strives to get an equality of pricing of Indian and international jewellery by making the exports competitive, price wise. Responding to this, the govt. has levied 9.35% import duty on gold doré. Niti Aayog Committee said that the initiative of financialisation of gold will help in bringing transparency in gold-related transactions and add towards India’s savings rate.

The committee, while commenting on ‘Make in India in Gold’ initiative, said that it should consider gold as one of the tier 1 industries of the Make in India initiative. If mining of gold is pursued actively, it would definitely create additional employment opportunities, even in the rural areas of the county. This way the domestic supply of gold can be increased and the ratio of import can be reduced, said the committee.
27th March 2018

Asian Gold ETFs Grow by 10% in February: World Gold Council

Gold prices in the Asian Market have inched up to their highest in Feb’2018. This recent volatility in the gold prices has resulted in adding more tonnes in the Asian market compared to North America and European market. Asian-listed gold Exchange Trade Fund added 7.9 tonnes of gold and its worth comes to $318.1 million.

This trend shows the vigorous gold demand from emerging markets like Asia and also focuses on the increasing interest and accessibility to ETFs in Asian countries. One of the major reasons behind this is the statement released y the US President Donald Trump where he stated that he would start retaliatory tariffs on the imports from other countries.

This has rekindles fears of a possible trade war which has further weakened the dollar in the international market. Gold is used as an alternate option for investment whenever it comes to political & financial uncertainties and the weaker dollar makes the metal available at cheaper price to the users of other currencies.
6th March 2018

Gold Prices Peaks up the Pace After Hitting Low the Last Week

After watching a considerable low phase in the pricing last week, Gold prices are finally back on the track. With the U.S. dollar gaining its positive momentum back, gold prices have edged up this Monday.

Major Highlights:

1. Spot gold rose experienced a rise of 0.1 percent in its price which was experiencing a major fall by 1.4 percent for the last week ended at February 23rd 2017.

2. Asian markets also reacted positively to this news and the coming week seems promising due to the upbeat mood of the markets.

3. The U.S. Federal Reserve found this steady growth to be continuing and doesn’t find any serious risks arriving on the horizon that can lead to the possible hindering in the rate hikes.

4. The Bank of England might raise the British interest rates much sooner than it had been earlier anticipated by Deputy Governor Dave Ramsden, said a report released on the last Saturday.

5. The high local pricing in gold had a positive impact on the gold demands in India. However, due to the occasion Lunar New Year holiday, the demands in other Asian countries were rather subdued.
26th Feb 2018

Gold Price - Jump Affects Demands, Brings in Discount

For the first time in last three weeks, Gold, in the physical form, was sold at a discounted price. This is because of the downfall in the gold demand, affected by hiked local price. The demand reduced to quarter the usual level (to be precise) due to the recent price surge as per Harshad Ajmera, a gold wholesaler in Kolkata.

On Friday, the physical gold, per 10 gram, was trading around Rs. 30, 810, which also hit the 15-month high of Rs. 30, 836. In comparison to $1.5 in the previous week, Indian dealers, over the official domestic price, offered a discount up to $3 per ounce.

As per WGC (World Gold Council), the demand for gold in India, for the third year, was expected to remain below its 10 year average, as new transparency rules and higher taxes were to cap the previous year’s rebound in the sale.

As per records, gold imports in India dropped 37 percent as compared to the last year in 17 months.
16th Feb 2018

Gold ETFs Witness Rs 679-crore Outflow in Just 10 Months

Due to unsatisfactory performance of Gold Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), the investors pulled out Rs. 110 in the month of January, which has further increased the total estimated outflow to Rs 679 crore in the fiscal year 2017-18. As per the latest update from the Association of Mutual Funds in India, this outflow indicates 15% decrease in assets under management (AUM) of gold funds, which plunged to Rs 4,906 crore. In the same period last year, this figure stood at Rs 5,670 crore.

Trading in ETFs has been tepid in the past few years. It had witnessed a heavy liquidation of Rs. 775 crores in 2016-17 Rs. 903 crores in 2015-16, Rs. 1475 crore in 2014-15 and Rs. 2293 crore in 2013-14.

On the contrary, Equity and Equity-Linked Savings Scheme (ELSS) witnessed an inflow of around Rs. 1.5 lakh crore within the first ten months of the financial year 2017-18. In fact, ELSS attracted an investment of around Rs 15,000 crore in the last month alone.

Except for few months, India has witnessed only a negative flow in gold ETFs. This nose-dive started in February 2013. Unsurprisingly, the inflows have also dwindled from several hundred crores in 2012 to single-digit crores or nil in some months. As mentioned by Vidya Bala, the head of mutual fund research at Fundsindia.com, the 3-year annualised returns of domestic gold is less than 3%, which is lower than even the interest rate on savings accounts of many Indian banks.
11th Feb 2018

India Gold Import in January Dropped to the Lowest in 17 Months

Gold import in India, in January, dropped to its lowest in past 17 months, as consumers either dropped or postponed their plans to purchase gold in expectations of low price due to cut in the import duty, data received from banks and the consultancy GFMS, as per the dealers nationwide.

Although India is the second-biggest gold consumers in India, this reduction in the gold purchase across the nation could affect the gold prices worldwide, which have seen a 7 percent increase in the past 8 weeks.

The trade deficit of India is also expected to lower down due to reduced gold imports, which reached its peak in December in over three years.

As per a GFMS report, in January, gold imports in India were 30 tonnes, as it dropped 37 percent from 47.9 tonnes the same time, last year. Also, the industry was expecting a duty cut in the budget announcement, which prompted gold traders to provide the maximum discount over domestic gold prices in 4 months.

The import duty, however, remained unchanged in the Union Budget announced on February 1, 2018.
5th Feb 2018

Gold Sales in Rural Areas Expected to Rise post Budget Announcement

After the Finance Minister, Mr. Arun Jaitley, announced the revival of certain measures in rural areas nationwide to increase farmers’ income, the Gold prices across these areas are set to go up as expected by jewelers and traders.

The government of India took a huge move to come forward with an all-inclusive gold policy so as to build gold as an asset class and both jewelers and gold traders welcomed it. With this move, the government intends to make India a go-for-gold destination.

Amongst the biggest jewelry and bullion markets, situated in Mumbai’s Zaveri Bazaar, the Mood was positive after the budget announcement. Dealers and jewelers took a sigh of relief, as Jaitley didn’t tweak the 3 percent GST imposed on gold as was firmly expected.

The budget also removed the premium on gold, making it open at $2 discount per troy ounce.
2nd Feb 2018

Gold Price Marginally Lower in India

Gold rates in India, recently, saw a price surge with a minor rally seen by the gold price in the global market. This price surge was registered in both 22 Karat gold and 24 Karat gold, as the investment in gold continued to be in a sustained trend. We are likely to see a sustained uptrend in the next a few days.

Since investors continued to show their best interest in the yellow metal, spot gold trading prices stood at $1245 per ounce in the global marketplaces. Investors are proactively showing their interest in bitcoins and equities, and the gold price is unlikely to go downside in the recent days.

The movement of the dollar is quite relevant and the same has been quite week in the last a few days. This could lead to significant drop in the gold price in India – roughly around Rs. 27,000. Gold price in cities like Chennai and Bengaluru is much lower in comparison to the rest of India.

Now, both 22 Karat gold and 24 Karat gold have moved in tandem, in the same direction. Some recent reports by experts and analysts state that there has been increased demand for gold biscuits and gold coins in India.
16th Dec 2017

Indian Bullion Refiners to have Gold Sourcing Standards soon

India is planning on implementing sourcing standard for gold refiners across the country after the new guidelines passed by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (abbreviated as OECD).

The norms for unrefined gold, in the first phase, will stipulate that it’s not imported from gold mines that employ children at the lower level, do fund terrorist activities, or support activities against the nation.

In its first meeting, the working committee decided that the regulatory model will be in line with the LBMA (London Bullion Market Association) and operate under the supervision of the government. Post implementation of these guidelines, Indian gold refiners will be recognized in the International market and efficiently meet the expectations of overseas clients, banks and customers altogether.

Since India holds the largest share of gold in the world (in the region of 25k tonnes), there should be a separate norm because gold sold in India is quite old. Indian bullion refineries have been given time until May 2018 to register themselves with the Bureau of Indian Standards.
5th Dec 2017

Gold Demand in Gujarat Remains Subdued this Wedding Season

The consumption of gold in Gujarat, this wedding season, is recorded to be slow due to the impacts of GST and restricted cash flow ensuring assembly election. Gold traders and jewelers across the city are also not expecting a rise in the demand for the yellow metal.

The secretary of Bullion Federation, based out of Ahmedabad said that the flow of money is being watched closely by the administration. The government is also scanning cash transactions of over Rs. 50,000 and asking for invoices right on the spot. This consequently has slowed down the flow of money across Gujarat. The assembly election is scheduled to take place on 9th and 14th of December.

Not all but some jewelers in the city are offering the doorstep delivery of jewelry to their customers, aiming at eliminating the odds of any problem customers might have to face.

In the fourth quarter of 2016, the demand for gold grew 3 percent to 244 tonnes particularly affected by the prices softening. Gold demand in the fourth quarter of 2017 is expected to be equivalent to that in that last year, particularly in the wedding season, which, however, is certainly better than that during the period of Dhanteras and Diwali.

The 3 percent rise in GST will certainly affect gold demand going forward, as consumers and traders are not yet prepared.
17th Nov 2017

Sovereign Gold Bond Price Fixed at Rs. 2961 per gram

The government of India, on Monday, fixed the per gram price of the brand new series of SGBs (Sovereign Gold Bonds) at Rs. 2,961. Government and the Reserve Bank of India have collectively decided to provide Rs. 50 per gram discount to investors who apply online and make payment digitally.

Arun Jaitley, Finance Minister of India, states that the coming subscription starts on November 13, 2017 and lasts until November 15, 2017 at a fixed price of Rs. 2,961 per gram. The settlement date will be November 20, 2017.

Being a part of the SGB Calendar, announced till December, this round is spread across 12 weeks.

The subscription is open between October 9 and December 27, Monday to Wednesday every week and the settlement can be made on the very first working day of the next week.

The first tranche as per the schedule closed a month ago, i.e. on October 11.
10th Nov 2017

Gold Demand Expected to Increase in India this Wedding Season

The demand for gold in India is expected to see a surge, as the peak wedding season is coming and jewelers across the country are pretty excited to bag a high premium. Recently, gold price in India and China was lackluster while in Singapore, the lure of this precious metal remained quite stable.

India is the second-largest consumer of gold and the ornaments made out of this yellow metal are an essential part of Indian weddings. Jewelers in India charged a premium of $3 per ounce over the official domestic prices, remained unchanged since last week, which includes10 percent import tax.

A Mumbai-based jeweler said that the wedding season has just started in the country. The wedding dates in the next few weeks will boost demand for gold.

As per a dealer with a private sector bank, there has been a fall in gold import by export houses nationwide in the last few weeks. This is why the market is in premium in spite of moderate demand.

For jewelry exporters in India, gold export norms have been tightened, restricting them to export this precious metal while keeping aside its sale it in the domestic market.
3rd Nov 2017

Gold Price Dips as Dollar Regains After U.S Senate approves Budget Plan 2018

Gold prices fell on Friday due to the dollar price rose after the U.S Senate gave a green signal to the budget plan for the financial year 2018. This move will ease the way for Republicans to follow a tax-cut package without asking for Democratic support.

Gold price had declined by 0.4% cent to $1,284.06 an ounce by 0700 GMT. It declined 1.6% for the week. The December delivery for US gold futures went down at $1,285.50 per ounce, which is a 0.3% shortfall.

The vote on the budget measure was passed on Thursday by 51 to 49 by the Reupblican-dominated Senate. This will add up to $1.5 trillion to the federal shortfall to pay for the proposed tax cut over the next decade. INTL FCStone analyst Edward Meir predicts that owing to Senate vote, the dollar is up, which in the near future will pave the way for a bill of tax reforms.

The American Central Bank i.e. U.S. Federal Reserve is anticipated to raise its benchmark rate of interest in December for the third time. Higher rates will increase the dollar’s value which in turn will affect the paper-currency dominated gold.

As per sources , US President Trump was in favour of Fed Governor Jerome Powell, as Fed chair had considered on the dollar and supported gold rices. In his recently concluded interviews with the five candidates for the fed chair, he indicated a decision will be announced as early as next week.

While OCBC analyst Barnabas Gan observed that the gold market has been moderately quiet lately.This indicates nothing but that geopolitical risks and changes may influence and boost demand for precious assets such as gold and Japanese Yen.

On the other hand, European Central Bank is all set to start pruning its monthly asset purchases from 60 billion euros to 40 billion by January.

However, all three precious metals saw weekly decline as Silver slipped 0.2 per cent to $17.17 an ounce, while Platinum saw a marginal rise of 0.1 per cent to $922.50 an ounce and palladium rose to 0.5 per cent at $963.25 an ounce.
20th Oct 2017

Gold Imports in India Rise 31% in September, says GFMS

The gold imports in India rose by 31 percent as compared to that last year, as jewelers across the country have hiked their purchases looking ahead at the festival in the month of October.

Being the second largest nation across the worldwide, India is supposed to lend support to global prices that trading close to the highest level, which could eventually lead to the wide trade deficit of the country. As per Sudheesh Nambiath, Senior Analyst at GFMS, the gold imports in India in the month of September were 48 tonnes.

Since gold purchase comes under PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) began in August, the September figure is reported to be lower as compared to the average monthly purchases of 75 tonnes in 2017. A Mumbai dealer said that the demand was weak in Dussehra because of the PMLA.

The customers had to provide their PAN detail or tax code for purchase transaction(s) of over Rs. 50, 000 and jewelers were required to keep that record for PMLA, which led to buyers’ hesitant and subsequent less sale of gold.

Generally, gold demand rises in the final quarter due to the festivals like Diwali and Dussehra as well as due to the wedding season.
10th Oct 2017

Gold Sales Expected to Skyrocket on Dhanteras as Government Eases the KYC Norms

Those planning to invest in gold on the auspicious occasion of Dhanteras are certainly in for a treat. In a recent move, the government of India eased the KYC norms for buying Gold in India, revealed various sources on the Internet.

According to sources, the government has decided to revoke its orders mandating jewellery dealers to collect PAN and Aadhaar cards details of the buyers purchasing Gold, silver and other jewelleries for more than INR 50,000. This decision was taken in the GST Council meeting held on the 6th of October 2017.

India is one of the world's largest gold consumers and records consumption of around 900-1,000 tonne Gold each year. And a major portion of the import is consumed during Diwali and Dhanteras.

Dhanteras is observed as one of the most auspicious days for purchasing silver gold, jewelleries or other valuables and is celebrated with much aplomb across a large part of the country.

In the wake of these changes, Gold sales are expected to experience an upswing this Diwali. Industry experts are hopeful of a 15% increase in Gold sales as against same period last year. The improvement in Gold sales will definitely be a big relief for Gold sellers who were experiencing consistent losses due to fewer consumers and a steady downfall in Gold rates.

Last Diwali, gold sales witnessed a steep rise of almost 25% owing to the high demand and fairly low Gold rates, reveal online sources.
8th Oct 2017

Gold Might Soon be Excluded from Trade Agreements

As per recent reports, India’s gold imports have almost tripled to $15.24 billion or Rs. 97,665 crore during April-August, as compared to $5.08 billion during the same period last year. Such a surge in gold import has caused alarm in the government, as this spike has worsened the country’s current account deficit.

Government understands that provisions of trade agreements are being abused to import gold at a very low or even zero duty and hence is planning to exclude the precious yellow metal from such trade agreements in future.

The matter has been discussed between the ministries of finance and commerce to negotiate trade agreements, the government official said. As per current rulebook, 10% basic customs duty is charged on gold imports from the countries with which India doesn’t have any trade agreement.

For a period of April-August 2017, the current trade deficit of India is pegged at $63.1bn, which is compared to the $34.3bn for the same period of the last year. Undoubtedly, GST implementation affected the gold imports to go high, leaving the government worried.
27th Sep 2017

Dollar Recovery Shoves Gold Down from One-year High

The gold rate cut down on Monday, after reaching its zenith in over a year, in the last session, as a result of the fast recovery of dollar rates in last week.

It was reported that the gold rate was down 0.7% at 1,337 USD, an ounce by 0053 GMT. It ascended to 1,357.54 on September 8, 2017. It is the highest gold rate since August last year.

Mark To, research head, Hong Kong's Wing Fung Financial Group, said that the major determinates of gold rate last week were the ongoing geopolitical tension. However, no crisis triggering event was noticed and there were fewer chances for the rise in gold prices.

The US dollar, on Monday, won an official pardon from risk aversion, after North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un made a decision to have a party that weekend rather launching another missile. In his recent speech, Mark To said that he has planner to go long on the dollar for a week or more but not for too long. The reason he mentioned was the major determinates, whereas the tensions related to geopolitical tensions are there. He also mentioned that slowing of the hike in interest rate and other reduction measures are going to be with them as well.
12th Sep 2017

Gold Rate in India Slips Due to Dollar Bounces Back

Gold price in India has a significant impact on the gold market and it tends to fluctuate rapidly. As per the recent report, gold rate in India is set to witness a fall owing to a firm Dollar. As Dollar increased after a positive US economic data, it has contributed to a fall in gold price in India by 0.4% and traded around 1,302 USD per ounce. As we already know, the foreign markets have a momentous influence on Indian gold price and since August last year, dollar went up by 0.3Y to 111.615, which was the strongest.

The recent meet between USA, North Korea and Central Bank on gold ended on a negative note. However, despite this negative sign, gold rate this month is quite at a higher side. The latest gold price indicates that this time gold prices are trading at 29,000 and this is an elevated rate as compared to the regular gold rate in India.
31st Aug 2017