Price rise takes sheen off gold, Q1 demand dips 15%

Gold demand in India fell up to 15% year-on-year in the April-June quarter, with consumers shying away from the precious metal as prices escalated. With very few wedding dates in July, demand for gold jewellery has not picked up this month either, although some jewellers said certain markets saw sporadic sales increases due to the Rath Yatra festival, an auspicious event in the Hindu calendar.

Gold price is hovering around ₹73,000 per 10 gm, up 15% from ₹63,870 per 10 gm at the beginning of 2024.

Mumbai’s Zaveri Bazaar, Asia’s largest jewellery market, has seen a decline in gold jewellery demand, said Prithviraj Kothari, president of India Bullion & Jewellers Association. “Reports from the jewellers indicate that demand has dropped 15%. Regular purchase of gold is not happening. Also, people are waiting to see whether the budget will bring down import duty on gold from current level of 15%.”

“Elevated gold price has been impacting the volume-based sales for quite some time now,” said MP Ahammed, chairman, Malabar Gold & Diamonds. “We always tweak our product strategy to meet evolving customer demand. Customers are now becoming familiar with the gold price realities and plan their gold jewellery purchase accordingly, as gold is an intrinsic part of the socio-cultural fabric of the country.” He added: “We expect a demand uptick in the festive season. As there is above-normal rainfall forecast in July… we hope for a demand revival in rural regions.”

Gold demand is expected to primarily revolve around the festive period, which kicks off in August-September, said Kavita Chacko, research head for India at the World Gold Council. She said jewellery demand is likely to remain subdued following the recent festive period (Akshaya Tritiya), with purchases largely confined to weddings.
“We have witnessed some movement in sales due to Ratha Yatra in certain markets. But overall, the demand has not picked up. We have witnessed over 12% degrowth in volume demand in the April-June quarter as compared to year-ago period. The trend is continuing in July,” said Suvankar Sen, managing director, Senco Gold & Diamonds.
However, Chirag Sheth, principal consultant (S Asia) at Metals Focus, said though there has been a decline in jewellery demand, investment demand is likely to go up in this financial year.