Amid Covid cloud 'Dhanteras' brings back gold demand

New Delhi, Nov 13: The auspicious occasion of 'Dhanteras' in India has brought some relief to the jewellery market, which has largely been subdued amid the pandemic with poor demand. Although demand witnessed a spike on Thursday and Friday post the recent subdued trend, the sales trend across the country varied with some places witnessing year-on-year rise and some others witnessing fall in sales compared to last year. The India Bullion and Jewellers Association (IBJA) said that the sale of gold this year on the auspicious occasion of Dhanteras has been 30 per cent more than the previous year. People bought gold worth a staggering Rs 20,000 crore during the festival in 2020, it said. Pankaj Arora, Chairman of the Gold and Jewelery Committee of the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), noted that the prices of gold and silver have increased significantly this year and those who invested in gold and silver last year have gained 30 per cent and 35 per cent, respectively. He was of the view that gold and silver sales this Dhanteras are estimated to be higher compared to last year. Bachhraj Bamalwa, a Kolkata-based jeweller and Chairman of the All India Gems and Jewellery Trade Federation, however, said that the sales were "good but due to Covid they were slower than expected." Spot price of gold rose on Friday with the 24-carat gold priced at Rs 50,849 per 10 gram (without GST), higher by Rs 50,702 on Thursday. The 22-carat gold was at Rs 50,645 per 10 gram, compared to Rs 50,499 on Thursday, according to the data from IBJA. Earlier in the day, Pankaj Khanna, Chairman of Gem Selections & Khanna Gems Group, said that the company's sales across its stores during Dhanteras -- Thursday and first half of Friday -- has surged to Rs 1.81 crore with volume of around 11,000 units in contrast to the sales of Rs 65 lakh with volume at 3,500 units last year. He, however, added that the growth in sales has been supported by the opening of new stores and dealerships this year. He noted that people are buying bullion more instead of jewellery. "People have started purchasing more of gold coins, silver biscuits and precious gemstones like Sapphire and Emerald, more with an invested viewpoint," Khanna told IANS. C. Vinod Hayagriv, Director and Managing Director, C. Krishniah Chetty Group Of Jewellers, said that the company expected a 20-25 per cent revival during Dhanteras and Diwali festive season. "We are expecting a 20-25 per cent revival during Dhanteras and Diwali festive season. We have reached 85 per cent of pre-Covid sales so far and are hopeful that festive buying and wedding-related purchases will help us to reach at least 85 per cent of last year's sales level during the period," he told IANS. He noted that for Dhanteras and Diwali customers have been more interested in wearable jewellery. (IANS)