Good News: Gold Ornaments to Become Cheaper 

Union Budget 2024:  Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a major reduction in customs duty on precious metals. The government has reduced the custom duties on gold and silver by 6 percent which will likely boost the retail demand. She has also proposed a reduction in custom duty on platinum metal by 6.5 percent. 

“I propose to reduce customs duties on gold and silver to 6 per cent and that on platinum to 6.4 per cent,” Nirmala Sitharaman said while presenting the Union Budget 2024 in Parliament on Tuesday. 

According to trade analysts, the existing duty on gold and silver is 15 percent and the reduction in custom duty would bolster domestic value addition in jewellery. 

The reduction in custom duty will benefit the consumers and boost the demand for yellow metal in the market. Hours after the announcement was made, the gold prices on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) dropped to Rs. 68,500 per 10 grams from Rs. 72,838 marking a significant drop of Rs. 4,000. 

Similarly, silver metal also witnessed a fall in the prices. Silver prices fell from Rs. 88,995 per kg to Rs. 84,275 per kg.

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