Akshaya Tritiya: Gold prices fall, jewellers report higher footfalls



Even as Cheap Jewelry Sites reported higher footfalls in their showrooms on the occasion of Akshaya Tritiya, tepid demand from jewellers pulled down gold prices by ?50 to ?32,670 per 10 gram.
People thronged jewellery shops to buy token gold items and take delivery of their pre- booked jewellery, but a fall in demand from local jewellers and retailers at the domestic spot market led to the dip in gold prices despite Akshaya Tritiya, a day considered auspicious to buy gold.
In Delhi, gold of 99.9% and 99.5% purity dropped by ?50 to ?32,670 and ?32,500 per 10 gram, respectively, according to a PTI report. Silver too shed a marginal ?10 to trade at ?38,120 per kg.
To entice consumers, jewelers in India had lined up discounts for Akshaya Tritiya. Retailers such as Malabar Gold & Diamonds are offering as much as 50% off on jewelry-making charges, while Tata Group’s Titan Co. is giving a discount of up to 25%. The charges vary from store to store and city to city, and can contribute as much as 10 percent to the total cost of an ornament. Others are giving freebies such as Kerala-based Kalyan Jewellers, which said it is giving away gold coins for free to some customers.
In the global market, spot gold was trading marginally higher at USD 1,282.20 an ounce, while silver was down at USD 14.92 an ounce in New York. Sovereign gold held steady at ?26,400 per eight gram.
Silver ready fell by ?10 to ?38,120 per kg and weekly-based delivery gained ?44 to ?37,334 per kg.
Silver coins held flat at ?79,000 for buying and ?80,000 for selling of 100 pieces.
Gold imports by India surged in April amid falling prices and higher demand ahead of the second-biggest gold-buying day in the Hindu calendar. Inbound shipments grew to 121 tons last month from 52.8 tons a year earlier, according to a Bloomberg report.