TIL Desk/Business/New Delhi/ This September quarter is seen as one of the worst for jewellers in many years, as an increase in import duty, followed by sharp increase in prices, have pushed the cost of gold to all-time highs. Gold demand, import, and import bills have declined sharply, as a result. However, this is good news for the central government at a time when crude oil prices are rising.
The import of gold in August stood at $ 1.36 billion (Rs 9,600 crore) – a 36-month low. It was also, for the first five months of this financial year, a three-year low at $ 14.5 billion.“A sharp 20 per cent rise in price and the off-season are key reasons for muted consumer demand. Imports have been consistently higher than demand since the first quarter of FY17 (barring Q4 of FY18), aggregating to 200 tonnes.
“In times like this, destocking is natural; so, imports are lower,” observes Somasundaram P R, managing director at the India arm of the World Gold Council, the mining industry body. Worried bullion traders and jewellers say the September quarter was the worst for demand in this decade. The import duty was raised from 10 per cent to 12.5 per cent in the Union Budget presented on July 5.
