Gold, Jewellery Sales Spurt 30% On Dhanteras

Mumbai: Gold and jewellery sales were up 30 per cent this Dhanteras, with jewellers across the country recording brisk business on the auspicious day on the back of favourbale price and a good monsoon. Dhanteras is considered to be an auspicious day for buying gold, silver and other valuables and is largely celebrated in North and West India.

PN Gadgil Jewellers Managing Director Saurabh Gadgil said that good monsoon, pent up demand of the first half of this year which was affected by jewellers' strike, stable gold prices and long weekend were mainly responsible for the positive consumer demand.

World Gold Council (WGC) MD Somasundaram PR said: "The physical demand is good with good footfalls, which is 30-50 per cent more than last year during this Dhanteras. Consumers are back in the market and retailers are all geared up to meet this demand. The level of activity only shows that things have come back to normal in trade as well as at the consumer level."

PC Jewellers MD Balram Garg said: "We are seeing 20 per cent jump in volume and 30 per cent in value terms. The growth is higher in value terms as prices have gone up in the last one year. This is a conservative estimate, but sales could cross this level, he added. P C Jewellers has around 70 retail outlets across the country."

Waman Hari Pethe Jewellers Director Aditya Pethe said looking at the footfalls the sales this year during the festivals are likely to be 20 per cent more than last year.

The sales have picked up since the last 15 days and we are expecting 20 per cent growth compared to last year. Rs 30,000-35,000 ticket size is pushing more this year, especially for wearable jewellery. Marriage jewellery are also in demand as the season will begin from December and this year there are more dates than last year, he added.

Gold prices on Friday fell by Rs 110 to Rs 30,590 per 10 grams in the national capital. However the prices were 16.6 per cent higher than Rs 26,230 on Dhanteras day in 2015. Silver traded at Rs 42,700 per kg as compared with Rs 35,410 per kg last year.

Kalyan Jewellers Executive Director Ramesh Kalyanaraman said, The advance booking for jewellery is up by 20-25 per cent compared to last year.

Prices are lower when compared to last two months. Prices are more or less stable now and also demand has revived in view of the good monsoon, he said.

MMTC-PAMP India President (Marketing) Vipin Raina said: "There was robust demand for gold and silver coins as also bars this time as prices are at favourable levels. "People are buying for investment purpose. We expect 15-20 per cent increase in sales from over the last year."

Demand For Gold ETF, Sovereign Gold Bond Rises On Dhanteras

The demand for Gold Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) and Sovereign Gold Bond (SGB) zoomed on Friday, as investors sought to buy the investment instruments on the auspicious occasion of Dhanteras. Anand James, Chief Market Strategist, Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services, said: "ETF sales were a bit lower than last Dhanteras, but if you include Gold Sovereign Bonds along with it, the sales in Gold assets this Dhanteras have gone up significantly. The segment had increased by 30 per cent till around 5.00 p.m."

According to Devendra Nevgi, Chief Executive of ZyFin Advisors, the Gold ETF and GSB will remain attractive given the uncertainties around global growth.

"Gold will remain an attractive asset in the longer run given the uncertainties surrounding the global growth and unexpected outcome of the US Presidential elections," Nevgi said. The key indices, the wider 51-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the barometer 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the BSE, had earlier decided to extend the Live trading session in Gold ETF and SGB securities in the equity segment. Trading in gold ETFs resumed after the closing of the regular market. The trading restarted at 4.30 p.m. and continued till 7.00 p.m. Gold ETFs are traded on the cash market like any other company stock, and can be bought and sold continuously at market prices.

They are passive investment instruments that are based on gold prices and invest in gold bullion. Meanwhile, sales of physical gold also increased on the auspicious occasion on Dhanteras.

The occasion of Dhanteras is considered to be auspicious for purchase of gold. 'Dhan' in Hindi means wealth, and 'Terah' means number 13th. Dhanteras is, accordingly, derived to mean the day devoted to wealth that falls on the 13th day of the Krishna Paksha (waning moon period) in the Hindu calendar month of Ashwin. People seek to usher in wealth into their homes and buy gold, silver and utensils as a sign of good luck on this day. In some parts of the country, people also worship Goddess of Wealth, Lakshmi.

Source: PTI/ IANS