Gujarat: Gold import falls by 71 per cent in Dec, by 28 per cent in Apr-Dec

Continuing its lacklustre show, gold import in Ahmedabad declined for the third straight month in December, falling by 71 per cent as against the same month of last year.

Gold import at the city airport was 3.77 tonne for the month of December 2018, as compared to 13.18 tonne a year ago, GSECL, which handles cargo at the airport, said. December import of the yellow metal was also lower by almost 50 per cent over the preceding month November, when the figure stood at 7.4 tonne.

Gold import in the city had fallen by 49 per cent in November and 89 per cent in October, breaking a string of three months when import of the yellow metal had shot up sharply. Gold import was up by 300 per cent in July, 1,600 per cent in August, and 220 per cent in September, before the slump.

In the first nine months of the current financial year, i.e. between April and December 2018, gold import figure stood at 42.99 tonne. This was 28.5 per cent lower than last year when 61 tonne of gold was imported at the airport, GSECL figures revealed.

The slump in import comes even as jewellers said that there is steady retail demand for the yellow metal.

"Demand is quite good because of the ongoing marriage season. The steady price of gold, which is in the range of Rs 32,000-32,500, has also helped in sales. We also see people buying gold for investment purposes due to volatility in equity markets owing to political uncertainties," Jigar Soni, vice president of the city's Jewellers Association, said.