Ahmedabad:
Thanks to a bountiful monsoon and healthy real-estate returns, Amdavadis splurged on gold on Wednesday, the Dhanteras day. The city did a business of about Rs30 crore as about 150 kg of gold was bought by people.
Though Dhanteras is considered the most auspicious day for buying gold, this year the sales on the day did not see any rise in terms of volume. "The demand for gold jewellery, coins and silver was almost same compared to that on Dhanteras in 2009. But the value has shot up. Last year, during Diwali, the gold was valued at around Rs16,000 per 10 gram while this year it has gone up by 25% to around Rs20,000 per 10 gram," said Manoj Soni of AB Jewels. However, in terms of amount of investment, people have spent more money on gold. "Due to salary hikes, good monsoon and high returns on real estate, people have spent more money on gold this year.
That is why, despite high gold and silver prices, the demand for gold and silver in terms of volume has remained almost same compared to last year," said president of Gem & Jewellery Trade Council of India, Shanti Patel. Patel said that in terms of volume the silver buying is much higher. "Since it is very cheap when compared to gold, people bought a lot of silver in Ahmedabad on Dhanteras.
We estimate that the city must have bought 200 kg of silver worth around Rs80 lakh on Wednesday," he said. Looking at the rush and demand, the showrooms were kept open till midnight on Wednesday. "The rush is good. Till evening, of the total sales of gold and silver, 60% of the demand was for jewellery and 40% for coins and bars. The gold was traded at around Rs20,000 per 10 gram while silver at Rs38,000 per kg," said director of Choksi Mahajan Association of Ahmedabad, Rajnikant Choksi.
The exceptional demand and rush for bullion on Dhanteras was witnessed across the country. "Usually, the country buys around 56 tonnes of gold between Pushyanakshatra and Bhaibij. This year the sales are expected to be much higher," said director of World Gold Council, Dharmesh Sodah.
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