rediffGURU Ramalingam Kalirajan answers your personal finance queries.
Retail investment demand for gold bars and coins as well as central bank purchases pushed the global gold demand by 28 per cent to 1,181.5 tonnes in the September quarter, according to the World Gold Council report. The total global demand stood at 921.9 tonnes during the July-September quarter of 2021, the World Gold Council's 'Gold Demand Trends Q3 2022' showed on Tuesday. Investment was down 47 per cent year-on-year as gold backed Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) investors responded to a challenging combination of higher interest rates and a strong US dollar with significant outflows of 227 tonnes.
Gold has risen sharply due to rising risk aversion
Those who want to invest should consider their risk appetite. Youngsters may go for it as they have a longer horizon to recover from a setback.
At a time when the whole world is going ga-ga over stocks and debt is too easy to borrow, do not forget gold, says Anil Rego.
''The outcome of the state polls may lead to some strategy-related permutations and combinations and the markets may extrapolate it to the likely outcome in the general elections.'
The demand for gold has bounced back sharply in India from the lows seen in 2020 because of the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, and has even beaten the pre-pandemic level. In the September quarter, the demand for gold jumped 47 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to 139.1 tonnes, as against 94.6 tonnes in the year-ago period, and higher than the 123.9 tonnes recorded in the pre-pandemic September 2019 quarter, the World Gold Council (WGC) said in its latest release. In value terms, demand surged 37 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 59,330 crore during the quarter.
This was also the 10th consecutive monthly net inflow, data with Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi) showed on Monday. In comparison, equity mutual funds logged net inflow to the tune of Rs 11,615 crore in November, Rs 5,215 crore in October, Rs 8,677 crore in September and Rs 8,666 crore in August.
Gold demand in India dropped by 30 per cent during the July-September quarter to 86.6 tonnes, compared to the same period last year due to Covid-19 related disruptions and ruling high prices, the World Gold Council (WGC) said in a report.
The Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi) has already taken up the matter with the market regulator and the finance ministry.
The bulk of an investor's portfolio should be in shorter-duration funds of up to one year portfolio duration.
The rally in silver may continue if the global economic recovery remains on course.
Since trading in virtual currencies is not illegal, they traded in cash or through barter in some instances.
Spot gold was up 0.6 percent at $1,103.60 an ounce by 0318 GMT, after an early low of $1,096.65.
Imports in 2016 expected to be lowest in 7 years but experts don't rule out a revival in demand if the yellow metal's price falls
HNI equity folios up 46% in the first half of FY15.
In 2013, the fall in international gold prices was 28 per cent.
UTI Mutual Fund has launched UTI-FAMILY (that allows investors to buy mutual fund units in their name, but the returns go straight to a parent's bank account.
The one-year returns for equity-oriented mutual fund (MFs) schemes have largely mirrored the gains made in the secondary market. However, schemes that invest in infrastructure (infra), small-cap, and public sector undertaking (PSU) banks have emerged standout performers, with gains in excess of 100 per cent in some cases. Of the total 484 equity schemes, 353 have managed to beat the Sensex, reveals the data provided by Value Research. Around 20 have delivered returns in excess of 90 per cent and six schemes have given returns of over 100 per cent in the past one year. The S&P BSE Sensex Total Return Index (TRI) has given returns of 51 per cent in the last one year, ended October 29.
In a first for India, bullion derivatives contracts will be settled on a blockchain platform. This will help in global acceptance of gold refined by Indian bullion refineries, giving a fillip to the local industry, exports, as well as investments. From November 1, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) will accept gold delivery only on the blockchain platform.
The new Samvat 2080 is viewed as a year of hope for industrial and precious metals. A key reason is the expectation of US interest rates peaking, followed by a reduction in the coming months. Regarding crude oil, its trajectory depends more on how the situation unfolds in West Asia.
Sustaining positive momentum for the 14th straight month, equity mutual funds attracted a net sum of Rs 15,890 crore in April amid heightened volatility in stock market and consistent selling by foreign portfolio investors. This was much lower compared to a record net inflow of Rs 28,463 crore seen in the preceding month, data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) showed on Tuesday. The lower quantum of net inflow from the previous month could be attributed to investors going slightly cautious given the ongoing challenges to the investment environment, Himanshu Srivastava, associate director - manager research, Morningstar India, said.
You can use gold as a financial instrument to diversify your portfolio into hedging against uncertainties in the market, but for ambitious returns, you must explore opportunities in other asset classes such as equities, debts and real estate, says Adhil Shetty, CEO, BankBazaar.com.
Gold exchange traded funds are a new product, so investors should look at the cost of investing in them before making a decision.
Breaking all previous records, gold prices on Saturday surged to a new peak at Rs 16,349 per 10 gram in futures trade, as traders increased their exposure in the precious metal following melting stock and forex.
Here is our take on the market trends to watch out for in 2010.
Total holdings of the top eight gold ETFs have risen by 3.8 million ounces so far this year
Commodity ETFs (exchange traded funds) attempt to track the price of a single commodity, such as gold or oil, or a basket of commodities by holding the actual commodity in storage, or by purchasing futures contracts.
Gold is currently trading at Rs 25,200 for 10 grams.
For easy and wide access, the government plans to market the bond through post offices and various brokers.
A WGC survey says that there is no dearth of gold demand, but there is lack of trust among prospective gold buyers, not only in India but globally.
Gold is often favoured as a hedge against economic and financial uncertainty
Gold companies have started reducing production. This implies that gold prices will not go on a free fall anytime soon
Undeterred by the stock market volatility, uncertainty due to the Ukraine-Russia war and high inflation, equity mutual funds continue to remain attractive choice for investors for the 15th straight month, registering a net inflow of Rs 18,529 crore in May on robust SIP numbers. This was higher than Rs 15,890 crore net inflow in April, data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) showed on Thursday. Equity schemes have been witnessing net inflow since March 2021, highlighting the positive sentiment among investors.
Assets under management with the mutual fund industry jumped a whopping 41 per cent in fiscal 2021 to Rs 31.43 lakh crore, despite a minor 1 per cent decline in March, says a report. The 1 per cent decline in assets on monthly basis in March was because of net outflows from open-ended debt funds, even though open-ended equity funds for the first time in June 2020 recorded net inflows, according to the industry data collated by Crisil on Friday. Marc saw net outflows of Rs 29,745 crore, taking down the industry's asset base to Rs 31.43 lakh crore, down from the record high of Rs 31.64 lakh crore in February, registering a whopping 41 per cent growth in the fiscal 2021 over the previous fiscal, said Crisil, adding cumulative inflows equalled Rs 2.09 lakh crore.
'Gold could return 10% to 12% in the next two-three years.'
The impact of currency depreciation can also be mitigated by holding a portion of your investment portfolio in dollar-denominated assets.
Mandatory hallmarking of gold would be a positive in making the gold market more organised. Mandatory hallmarking would come into effect from January 15, 2020, with a one-year transition period for trade to sell existing inventories. Experts also expect more policy measures next year to bring in more transparency in terms of gold as an asset class.
After eight months of consecutive outflows, equity mutual funds witnessed a net inflow of Rs 9,115 crore in March amid correction in the stock market. Barring multi-cap and value fund categories, all the equity schemes saw inflow last month, data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi) showed on Thursday. However, investors pulled out Rs 52,528 crore from debt mutual funds last month, after investing Rs 1,735 crore in February, owing to advance tax payments and other year ending commitments. Overall, the mutual fund industry witnessed a net outflow of Rs 29,745 crore across all segments during the period under review, compared with a net inflow of Rs 4,090 crore in February.
US gold futures slid over 1 per cent on Thursday, while silver futures dropped 2 per cent.