CHENNAIL: The shooting gold price coupled with the impact of the recession, has left many jewellery outlets almost empty this festive season. Jewellers said they was a 20-30 percent dip in sales compared to the previous year.
On Tuesday, the price for the precious metal was Rs 1495 per gram compared to Rs 1481 on Monday. “This upward trend has kept the common man away from buying gold jewellery,” said Venkitesan, representative of a renowned jewellery in the city.
He also pointed out that of late, gold had emerged as one of the safest means of investment. “As the price fluctuated, people bought and sold gold. Such transactions also kept the prices high,” he added.
The investors preferred pure gold to jewellery.
This was to avoid loss during selling which mainly occurred through making charges.
While the jewellers faced a dip in sales, the average customer found it impossible to buy gold at present rates. “Last year I bought 10 sovereigns of gold for around Rs 70,000. This year I won’t be able to buy gold to that extent. Apart from the cost of gold you will have to pay making charges and suffer other expenses too. Hence, I am not going to buy gold for Deepavali,” said Padmanabhan, an employee of a private firm.
Bleak job opportunities and lay-offs have also affected gold sales. “Only those in urgent need of buying gold jewellery became potential buyers. Though the world economy was showing signs of recovery, the general trend was not to indulge too much,” said Ramanathan, a banker.
Meanwhile, the Gold Council of India (GCI), expressed hope that sales would pick up in the coming days. “With people becoming more net savvy, they keep watching trends in the markets across the world,” said K Shivram, vice –president, Gold Council.