Gold market fizzles

The five-day strike rendered the Ahmedabad gold industry flat.

Jewellers of Ahmedabad, who trade 100kg gold on a normal day, have lost business worth Rs140 crore — or 400-500kg gold since Saturday.

The estimated losses are actually less as this month marks end of the fiscal year, say bullion traders in the city. 

"Hike in gold duties will make the yellow metal expensive for customers. Jewellers will also find filing returns and paying taxes more tedious, courtesy inflated duty. Apart from government, everybody will lose," said Manoj Soni MD of AB Jewels. He informed that on an average, Ahmedabad district trades 100 kg of gold every day.

"During the last five days including Sunday, Ahmedabad district must have lost business worth 400-500 kg gold, or Rs140 crore. This excludes business of silver and other precious metals," added Soni.

After the success of the five-day strike, jewellers in Gujarat had decided to extend their protest till Sunday but Ahmedabad's Choksi Mahajan Association wants to discontinue it.

"We want to start business again but we will continue to fight against hike in gold duty," said Harshvadan Dhaya Choksi, president of the association.

As the hike is already in place, jewellery and
bullion have both become expensive.

"Due to increase in taxes, price of 1kg gold has gone up by Rs10-11,000," said Shanti Patel, president of Gem & Jewellery Trade Council of India (GJTCI).