Gold shines: August import surges 1,635%, says GSECL

Helped by a combination of revival of retail demand and a lower base, gold import in Ahmedabad surged by more than 16 times for the month of August. GSECL, which handles cargo at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, said that gold import for August was 11.10 tonne, 1,635% higher than 0.64 tonne in the same month of last year. Gold import for August was the highest in any month since December when it was 13.18 tonne.

As per the GSECL data, August was the second month in a row when gold import has gone up, after declining for six consecutive months before that. In July, gold import was 4.20 tonne, 304% higher than 1.04 tonne in the same month of previous year.

From over Rs 32,000 in June, gold fell to Rs 30,500 or so in July, but has since gained Rs1,000 and is quoting at around Rs 31,500 per 10 gram. A weakening rupee, which slumped to below 71 vis-a-vis the US dollar, has also contributed to the rise in gold price. Jigar Soni, VP of Jewellers Association Ahmedabad, that there was good demand, and retail sales of gold were picking up. “With the festival season approaching, gold demand should pick up further. Gold price is also expected to rise.”

Industry experts said that jewellers have started stocking gold in anticipation of festival season demand ahead. For the first five months of the financial year, gold import is up marginally. As against 26.87 tonne in April-August of 2017, gold import was up by 1% to 27.09 tonne in the same period of this year. This was mainly because of the strong growth in August.Coming to silver, import of the shiny metal continued to decline. For August, silver import at SVPI was 0.30 tonne, 30% lower than 0.43 tonne in the same month of last year. The import figure was the lowest since January when the figure was 0.17 tonne.

For the first five months of the fiscal, silver import is down more than 90%. From 63.43 tonne in April-August of 2017, import of the shiny metal declined to 5.96 tonne in the same period.