The sharp increase in commodity prices on account of the Russia-Ukraine war has put automakers in a fix. After the frequent price hikes in the current fiscal, manufacturers fear that any more price increases may further dent the already weak demand in certain segments. "We have taken several hikes and cannot immediately do it again. "We will have to closely watch the situation and act accordingly," said an official at an auto firm, declining to be identified. Even for companies like Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, which has had a strong volume run and a robust order book, passing on the entire costs has been tough.
If hallmarking data are anything to go by, the proportion of spurious jewellery in the country might have shrunk significantly in the past five years.
Gold is up 0.8 per cent for the week, after hitting a near-two-week high earlier in the week.
Traders have used this as an opportunity to stock up silver.
Economists caution that the underlying cause could be an alarming drop in demand -- something that's not good for economic growth.
Gold has held up better than many expected.
The gold market has remained under pressure.
The iconinc Zaveri Bazaar in south Mumbai does business of around Rs 3 trillion a year.
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After gaining Rs 235 in last three sessions, gold further spurted by Rs 465 to Rs 31,450 per ten grams, a level last seen on December 12.
Silver prices also jumped by Rs 500 to Rs 45,000 per kg on increased offtake by jewellery fabricators and industrial units.
US gold futures slid over 1 per cent on Thursday, while silver futures dropped 2 per cent.
Traders attributed the rise in prices to higher demand of precious metals for the coming festivals like Rakshabandhan compared with supply, which has tightened because of fall in imports following government measures.
India's planned transition to electric vehicles will drastically affect the commodities market, says Aditya Gandhi
Jewellers across the country will go on a 'token strike' on August 23 against the "arbitrary implementation" of mandatory hallmarking of gold jewellery, All India Gem and Jewellery Domestic Council (GJC) said on Friday. The strike will be supported by 350 associations and federations from all four zones of the entire gems and jewellery industry, the GJC claimed. Mandatory gold hallmarking has come into force from June 16 in a phased manner. The government has identified 256 districts from 28 states and union territories for the phase-1 implementation.
Silver advanced by Rs 150 to Rs 34,200 per kg on increased offtake.
Treat silver as part of the procyclical or growth assets in your portfolio, advises Sanjay Kumar Singh.
The government's ambitious gold deposit scheme can succeed only if depositors are paid a higher interest rate.
India has 20,000 tonnes of idle gold; gold is an important aspect of women empowerment: PM.
A large number of successful IPOs ensured that the total investor wealth, measured in terms of cumulative valuation of all listed shares, rose by nearly Rs 6 lakh crore during the year to Rs 106.23 lakh crore
Many offer personalised ornaments with 3D printed images and engraved names to lure customers in a scenario of high gold prices.
After recording significant decline in September, gold and silver imports jumped by 62.5 per cent to $1.3 billion in October this year.
In the currency markets, the rupee lost another 10 paise to close at 1-week low of 63.54 against the US dollar
The government has hiked import duty on gold three times in a year and recently raised it by 2 per cent to 8 per cent to curb demand.
India's jewellery consumption in Sept quarter increases 5% to 193 tonnes.
Marriage season will end in the next two months and import growth is likely to taper off
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
Silver also turned weak and dropped by Rs 350 to Rs 41,200 per kg on reduced offtake by industrial units and coin makers.
Gold import this financial year is estimated at 945 tonnes.
Silver also fell further by Rs 150 to Rs 34,200 per kg.
Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi said, a hike in GST rates would have hampered consumption amid the economic slowdown. The revenue augmentation panel in the Council meeting recently recommended revisiting and restructuring the GST rate slabs, besides correcting the inverted duty structure. The panel listed 24 items, including mobile phones, footwear, fabrics, LED light, medical equipment, utensils, agri machinery, pharma, and renewable components, which have an inverted duty structure, resulting in refunds of close to Rs 20,000 crore annually.
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The government has also raised the duty on gold ore/ concentrates/dore bars and silver dore bars ranging from 7 per cent to 10 per cent.
The second day of pre-Diwali Dhanteras witnessed a tepid response from shoppers on Friday as gold and silver sales have likely to be fallen by up to 35 per cent year-on-year due to high prices and COVID-19 induced financial distress, although consumers moved to online buying to make most of the festival, jewellers said. The buying was heavily restricted to light weight jewellery, coins and precious stones due to lower purchasing power and high gold rates, they said. Due to the fear of coronavirus infection, many customers who had booked in advance were taking delivery of wedding orders on Friday, while some were seen buying safely through online brands like Tanishq and Melorra.
Confidence had ebbed in the last few years due to default by some errant domestic retailers and exporters. Moreover, many jewellers are believed to have diverted the fund collected through monthly deposit schemes to pay 'mark-to-market' margins on various loans.
The GST will be a national sales tax that will be levied on consumption of goods or use of services
For easy and wide access, the government plans to market the bond through post offices and various brokers.
Markets end in red; bluechips struggle to keep pace.
Silver, platinum and palladium all declined.
It was a year of stocks shining bright when it comes to adding to the investors' wealth, and the glitter of gold and silver fading for the second straight year in 2013.
Derivatives exchange DGCX started trading futures for the S&P BSE Sensex
Finance Minister P Chidambaram on said that financing current account deficit (CAD) year after year is a challenge and the only way to deal with the problem is by increasing exports.
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