India gold imports surge amid demand

Bloomberg

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 person familiar with the data, who asked not to be identified as the information isn’t public. Shipments were higher than the 73 tons in March as well.
Finance Ministry spokesman DS Malik wasn’t immediately available for comment.
Gold demand in India is picking after slow sales in the last couple of years as higher prices and government curbs to crack down on unaccounted wealth weighed on the sector.
Consumption in the second-biggest gold buying nation may rise this quarter because of the traditional wedding season purchases, the auspicious Akshaya Tritiya festival and rising crop prices that increase the spending power of rural consumers, the World Gold Council said.
Hindus buy valuables including gold and silver on Akshaya Tritiya, in the belief that it will bring luck and prosperity. That faith coupled with an about
7 percent drop in prices from a more than five-year high in February is underpinning demand.
“Because prices have come down, it has helped everybody,” said Chirag Sheth, an analyst at Metals Focus Ltd.
To entice consumers, jewellers in India are lining up discounts for Akshaya Tritiya. Retailers such as Malabar Gold & Diamonds are offering as much as 50 percent off on jewellery-making charges, while Tata Group’s Titan Co is giving a discount of up to 25 percent.
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.
“There are reports of robust pre-Akshaya Tritiya sales in the markets,” Ahammed MP, chairman of Malabar Gold & Diamonds, said in a statement.