Gold imports jump two-fold to Rs 23,739 crore in October

Arresting the eight-month fall, gold imports more than doubled to $ 3.5 billion (around Rs 23,738 crore) in October on account of high festival demand.

Gold imports had stood at $ 1.67 billion (around Rs 11,326 crore) in October last year, official data released on Tuesday showed. The imports of the precious metal were on a decline since February this year till September. The increase in gold imports pushed the trade deficit to 10-month high of $ 10.16 billion (around Rs 68,910 crore) in October from $ 9.69 billion (around Rs 65,717 crore) during the same month last year.

The imports mainly take care of demand of jewellery industry. The jump in gold imports will also impact the current account deficit (CAD). Silver imports, however, dipped by 49% to $ 181.93 million in October as against $ 355.38 million (around Rs 2,410 crore) in the same month last year. The country's total official gold imports declined to 60 tonnes in April-July of this fiscal, much lower than 250 tonnes in the year-ago period. India, the world's second biggest gold consumer after China, imported 650 tonnes in 2015-16.