The government on Monday slashed import tariff value on gold and silver to $408 per 10 grams and $617 per kg respectively, in view of weakness in bullion prices globally.
"India is not only buying massive amounts of Russian Oil, they are then, for much of the Oil purchased, selling it on the Open Market for big profits," Trump said in a social media post on Monday.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has agreed to look into India's concerns over compliance to rules related to the import of silver products, platinum alloy and dry dates, the commerce department said on Tuesday. During a joint committee meeting under the India-UAE trade deal, officials from New Delhi raised concerns over the recent surge in imports of these products. These were being shipped to India, taking advantage of the lower tariffs under the pact.
In Singapore, gold prices have risen by 0.46 per cent to $ 1,294.20 from $ 1,288 per ounce in last one fortnight.
The government on Monday reduced import tariff value on gold to $388 per 10 grams and on silver to $540 per kg, following global price trends.
The government on Wednesday increased the import tariff value on gold and silver to $408 per 10 gram and $520 per kg, respectively in line with global prices.
The stringent curbs on gold imports has resulted in a huge flow of smuggled gold, being financed by buying dollars from the hawala market.
The Indian industry is paranoid about the USA's plan to impose reciprocal tariffs and wants early conclusion of a bilateral trade agreement, sources said on Wednesday. They said that the talks for the proposed bilateral trade agreement are going well.
'When the gold price rises rapidly, India's physical gold market remains on standby.'
Of Trump's reciprocal tariffs and trade deals
Sales of gold coins and bars should be curbed after reaching around 300 tonnes
Last month's deficit stood at $9.22 billion, the trade ministry said, compared with $10.56 billion in October -- a traditional gold buying season.
Government on Friday hiked the import tariff value on gold and silver to $433 per 10 grams and $699 per kg, respectively, taking into account the volatility in the precious metals' global prices.
The government on Thursday slashed the import tariff value on gold for the second straight day to $ 414 per 10 grams and silver to $672 per kg, in line with weak global prices of the precious metals.
India and the US have decided to hold sector-specific talks in the coming weeks to finalise the structure of the proposed bilateral trade agreement (BTA), the government said on Saturday. The engagement between the two countries came in the backdrop of the USA's threat to impose reciprocal tariffs on its key trading partners, including India, on April 2.
Import duty on gold is already hiked by a third to 8 per cent.
Since the last nine years, gold investors have made money each year, while gains in silver have been consistent only in the last five years.
The import tariff value is the base price at which the customs duty is determined to prevent under-invoicing.
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Analysts worry that without more fundamental reforms, India will struggle to contain its record high current account deficit and hence support the rupee.
The rise in illegal imports of the yellow metal has caught the eye of the finance ministry.
'Reduce your equity allocation, put that allocation into gold and fixed income.'
Amid the ongoing global tariff war, Reserve Bank Governor Sanjay Malhotra on Wednesday said he is more worried about its impact on growth than inflation. Speaking to the media after presentation of the first bi-monthly monetary policy for the current financial year, Malhotra said, RBI has reduced the growth forecast for 2025-26 by 20 basis points to 6.5 per cent.
Gold, the safest haven amid the ongoing uncertainty, also emerged as one of the most lucrative investment options in financial year 2022-23 with an impressive return of 16.1 per cent in rupee terms, and 2.3 per cent returns in dollars. And, had it not been for the very high inflow of smuggled gold and the huge discount prevailing in the market due to high prices, the returns in gold would have been much higher, analysts said. The precious metal has consistently been delivering positive returns in India since 2016.
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Earlier, similar restrictions were imposed on commercial banks.
'Look after your own mother before looking after your neighbour's mother.' 'I don't believe in starving my own mother and feeding sweets to the neighbours.'
Goods from sectors, including agriculture, precious stones, chemicals, pharma, medical devices, electricals, and machinery may get impacted if the US will go ahead with imposing reciprocal tariffs on Indian products, according to experts. They said that these sectors could face additional customs duties from the Trump administration because of the high tariff differential or gap, which is the difference between the import duties imposed by the US and India on a product.
India and the United States will finalize the contours, schedule of negotiations, and terms of reference for a proposed bilateral trade agreement (BTA) during a three-day meeting beginning Tuesday. The agreement is expected to be finalized in two tranches, with the first phase focusing on goods trade. The US team, led by Assistant US Trade Representative for South and Central Asia Brendan Lynch, will be in India from March 25-29 to discuss the agreement. Both countries are aiming to conclude the first phase of the agreement by fall 2025.
It rose to 310 tonnes in the second quarter ended June.
World Championship challenger D Gukesh on Sunday said he didn't think about his personal achievements and was prepared to do "whatever it takes" to secure India's maiden gold medal at the Chess Olympiad following near-misses in previous editions.
Gold prices are set to drop further in the domestic market, owing to the rupee's appreciation.
A sharp fall in Sensex and rupee against dollar and strong global cues also contributed to the upsurge in gold price, which posted the biggest single-day gain after August 19, 2011. Interestingly, the metal had shot up by Rs 1,310 on August 19, 2011 as well.
The moves by the RBI, announced late on Wednesday, should increase supplies of gold and brighten the earnings outlook for jewellery makers after the government took tough measures to curb imports last year, analysts said.
Report says gold being exported by persons of Indian origin and routed through Dubai
Gold and silver imports declined 80.55 per cent to $1.05 billion in November after a slew of measures taken by the government to curb inbound shipments of the metal, aimed at narrowing the current account deficit.
An Indian official team is likely to visit Washington next week to iron out differences on certain issues before formally launching negotiations for the proposed India-US bilateral trade agreement (BTA), an official said. The visit, which comes within weeks of a high-level US team visiting India, indicates that the talks for the BTA are gaining momentum.
The trade war between the US and China is expected to benefit Indian exporters in increasing their shipments to the American market, sources said. They said the country was the fourth-largest gainer when the US imposed higher duties on Chinese goods during US President Donald Trump's first tenure.
Domestic customers will get access to high-quality Swiss products such as watches, chocolates, biscuits, and clocks at lower prices as India will phase out customs duties under its trade pact with the EFTA bloc on these goods over a period of time. India and the four-European nation bloc EFTA signed a trade and economic partnership agreement (TEPA) on Sunday to boost trade and investments between the two regions. The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) members are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland.
Gold demand in India is expected to be robust in 2014, likely leading to a further jump in smuggling if curbs on bullion imports remain, the World Gold Council (WGC) said.
While an import duty is ruled out, a small excise duty on jewellery manufacturing can be on the cards.
The Finance Minister has withdrawn excise exemption on 130 items and a nominal central excise duty of 1 per cent is being levied on these 130 items that are mainly in nature of consumer goods.
