NEW DELHI: Demand for gold and silver is all set to zoom in the upcoming festive season following a sharp reduction in retail prices after the centre reduced customs duty in the union budget.
According to jewellery shop owners in the national capital, demand for the two precious metals may escalate as much as 30% this festive season.
“A visible increase in demand is seen for gold and silver since the changes in customs duty. So far our sales have surged 15-20% and we expect it to grow up to 30% when Navratri kicks off the festive season in late September this year,” Yugansh Chhabra, Co-founder of Shree Mahalaxmi Jewelers said. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a cut in total import duty on gold and silver from 15% to 6%.
Following this, the yellow metal’s prices have been falling sharply. On August 4, 2024, the rate for 24 carat gold was recorded at R70,730 per 10 gram, and silver per kg was recorded at R85,500. Likewise, the customs duty cut on platinum was also reduced, leading to a surge in its demand as well. Manish Garg, spokesperson of Dariba Vyapar Mandal feels that the prices of gold would fall even more.
He said that a fall of around R4,000 is not satisfactory, neither for them nor for the consumers. “We are expecting the prices to fall even more in the near future at the time of Navratri and Deepawali,” Garg said. The festive season in India is all set to commence in September and anticipating a rush in demand, jewellers said that they are taking measures to keep the supply chain intact.