INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Authors: JordanGold imports declined by 50 per cent in the March quarter of this year to 153 tonneMumbai: The gold demand in India fell by
12 per cent in the first quarter of this year to 115.6 tonne compared to the same period last year due to high local gold price, the World
Gold Council (WGC) said in a report
The total demand stood at 131.2 tonne in the January-March period in 2017, WGC said in its 'Gold Demand Trends' report for Q1 2018
In terms of value, the gold demand fell by 8 per cent to Rs 31,800 crore, compared to Rs 34,440 crore in the same period of 2017."The
decline in demand can be attributed to a number of reasons, including the rising local gold prices, a substantial drop in the number of
auspicious wedding days during the period compared to the previous year, and anticipation of an import duty cut in the Union Budget," WGC,
India, managing director P R Somasundaram told PTI here.: Gold Rates Fall Today To Lowest In 2 Weeks : 5 Things To Know"The transition to
GST, especially by the unorganised sector, also affected demand to a certain extent," he said
Also, the trade sentiment was subdued following the (PNB) bank scam, which continued till 'Akshaya Tritiya', he added
The jewellery demand in India for the first quarter dipped by 12 per cent to 87.7 tonne, compared to 99.2 tonne in the same period of 2017
In value terms, the jewellery demand during the period dropped by 7 per cent to Rs 24,130 crore, from Rs 26,050 crore in the corresponding
period last year.The total investment demand for January-March was down by 13 per cent at 27.9 tonne against 32 tonne in the same quarter
In value terms, the gold investment demand in the first quarter of this year was Rs 7,660 crore, a fall of 9 percent from same period of
2017, which stood at Rs 8,390 crore
The total gold recycled in India also declined by 3 per cent during the first quarter of 2018, to 14.1 tonne from14.5 tonne in the same
period of 2017."The first quarter in India is not naturally a dynamic period for gold as people usually settle their other financial
commitments for tax purposes
Moreover, there was also no catalyst like duty cut to trigger demand," Somasundaram said
Meanwhile, the gold imports declined by 50 per cent in the first quarter of this year to 153 tonne compared to 260 tonne in the same period
last year."The imports declined mainly on account of subdued consumer demand, down stocking following the GST transitional period and also
on expectations of duty cut in budget," he added
Asked about imports this year, Somasundaram said the gold shipment into the country is likely to be on similar lines with demand
For the full year of 2018, he said, the gold demand in India is expected to be in the range of 700"800 tonne
"We are positive about the gold demand going forward due to expectation of better monsoon, higher rural income and overall GDP growth
The compliance standard is growing and in the long run its going to be positive and transform the industry," he said.(This story has not
been edited by staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
