The gold and jewellery market finally took off after two years of sluggishness, raising sales above and above the COVID-caused decline. Despite the impending economic uncertainty and the strong likelihood of a global recession in the next months, sales of gold and silver have just reached record levels.
All India Jewelers and Goldsmith Federation (AIJGF) predicts that sales of gold and silver coins and bars, the most popular goods during Dhanteras, reached unprecedented heights this year.
“The Indian gold industry has fully recovered from the Covid crisis as the demand for gold in India has reached its highest level! India’s gold demand grew by up to 80 per cent in the domestic market in the July-September quarter following a strong pick-up in economic activity and improved consumer demand,” said Pankaj Arora, National President at AIJGF.
According to estimates, the country’s sales of gold and silver coins, notes, sculptures, and utensils reportedly reached a peak of Rs 25,000 crore over the two-day Dhanteras holiday.
“The excessive footfall in the markets across the country on Saturday (22 October) and Sunday (23 October) on the occasion of Dhanteras shows the eagerness of the people to buy Indian goods and too from offline markets. After the two years recession in the market due to the COVID pandemic, the unending outbreak of customers in markets has brought cheers for the traders,” said Praveen Khandelwal, Secretary General of the leading industry body Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT).
In addition to taking the top spot on purchasers’ priority lists in the lead-up to Diwali, Lakshmi Iyer, Chief Investment Officer (Debt) & Head of Products, at Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Company, claims that this time, economic uncertainty may have contributed to an increase in demand for gold.
“While global turbulence has seen volatility across asset classes, gold remains well positioned, though returns in the near term have been muted. Gold ETFs are a great way to own gold without the hassle of buying physical gold at varied retail pricing. Gold ETF folios have seen a net increase CY2022 to date and we expect this trend to continue going forward as well,” he said.
The tendency among consumers has been recognised by jewellers as well. According to Suvankar Sen, MD & CEO of Senco Gold & Diamonds, the company has seen a lot of pre-booking of jewellery for final purchases on the day of Dhanteras over the past few days.
“Customer sentiments are also looking positive due to the recent reduction in local gold prices. Footfalls at stores since morning have been very good and we expect it will be more than what we witnessed last year. We are witnessing a surge in demand for men’s jewellery, especially in the form of chains and rings. Bridal customers for upcoming wedding season have also started their buying and is approx 25-30% of total customer sales,” he said.
