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Gujarat: Gold loses lustre, import falls to 29-month low in October

Import of the yellow metal for October was the lowest since May 2016, when it was only 0.42 tonne

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The festive cheer seems to be missing from the gold market, and this is what import figures of the precious metal show. Figures show that gold and silver import fell sharply in the city in the month of October, that is, just before Dhanteras and Diwali.

Gujarat State Export Corporation Limited (GSECL), which handles cargo at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, said that gold import for October was 0.57 tonne, 89 per cent lower than 5.23 tonne recorded in the same month, last year. Import of the yellow metal for October was the lowest since May 2016, when it was only 0.42 tonne.

The steep fall in gold import comes after three months of a huge jump in import. Gold import for July, August and September had risen by 304 per cent, 1,634 per cent, and 220 per cent respectively. The rise can be attributed to jewellers stocking up for festive season sales.

Gold sales have been facing a slowdown over the past couple of years. This year, Pushya Nakshatra failed to add glitter to purchase of gold, and while sales rose on Dhanteras, demand was much lower than previous years. According to jewellers, the high price of gold, quoted at nearly Rs 33,000 per 10 gramme, deterred buyers.

For the first seven months of the year, gold import stood at 31.82 tonne, 4 per cent lower than 33 tonne, in 2017.

Silver import also fell sharply for October, but unlike gold, import of the shiny metal was weak also in the previous few months. GSECL said that silver import for the last month was 3.38 tonne, 87 per cent lower than 26 tonne last year. Incidentally, in spite of the sharp decline, silver import for October was the highest in the last seven months.

For the first seven months of the year, silver import has gone down by more than 90 per cent. GSECL data shows that silver import for Apr-Oct 2018, was 10.75 tonne, as against 115.29 tonne in the same period of 2017.

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