The month of March could be worst in many years, with imports estimated only around 18 tonnes amid the coronavirus pandemic and the nationwide lockdown, said an industry player. The import in March 2019 was 72.5 tonnes, according to the GFMS data.
Both the precious metals, gold and silver, on Monday rebounded in the national capital on emergence of buying at existing lower levels amid a firm trend in the Asian region.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the Budget for 2016-17 had proposed 1 per cent excise duty on jewellery without input credit or 12.5 per cent with input tax credit on jewellery.
Silver coins, however, held unchanged at Rs 70,000.
Imports are down also because local traders are clearing unaccounted stock after introduction of 1 per cent excise duty
The new norms come into force with immediate effect.
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 had hit an all-time high of Rs 11,492 on the Multi Commodity Exchange, the largest commodity bourse. The gold contract has gone up more than 7 per cent so far in 2008. Traders said the demand for gold is dull, as many people are expecting that the prices will come down.
Govt clamps have resulted in 93% decline in April-November
The bill on October 2013 was $1.01 billion for 38 tonnes.
Silver ready rose by Rs 350 to Rs 33,850 per kg.
In London, gold prices eased today, as the euro ran into profit-taking and stock markets dipped.
Gold price in Mumbai's physical market on Friday fell 31.1 per cent or Rs 1,351 to close at Rs 41,848 per 10 gramme. Friday's fall in per cent terms is worst after November 2015 and, in absolute terms, the worst after August 2013. Silver prices fell Rs 2,255 to close 5 per cent lower at Rs 43,085 per kg on Friday.
The precious metal has now lost Rs 280 in last three days.
Silver coins, however, continued to trade in a narrow range.
Silver also recovered by Rs 500 to Rs 37,300 per kg.
Even as the MCX Stock Exchange and the Delhi Stock Exchange are hoping to launch equity trading on their platform soon, another Mumbai-based exchange, the Inter-connected Stock Exchange is set to follow suit.
Import bill for September rises to $3.5-4 billion as traders and retailers stock up the precious metal.
Gold in Singapore advanced as much as 1 per cent to $1,202.08 an ounce.
Gold pries surged to a record high at Rs 11,840 per 10 gram on Monday owing to brisk buying by major market players, who were enthused by firming global trend, and some investors' shifting focus from melting stock markets to the bullion mart. The market remained in bullish mood with gold remaining on record-setting spree as investors shifted a part of their funds from weakening stock markets to gold as the metal offers a safe haven for investments, traders said.
NSEL, has up to Rs 500 crore (Rs 5 billion) daily turnover in e-golds.
The yellow metal witnessed some token buying but failed to take off on Dhanteras, a day considered auspicious for buying gold, silver and other valuables and is largely celebrated in North and West India.
Global gold prices held below $1,200 an ounce this week.
In the first quarter of 2013, gold imports declined 5.7 per cent, as traders relied mostly in stocks to meet rising demand.
The move could aggravate shortages in the physical market as authorities seize gold without a valid provenance.
'We have entered the commodity space with a long-term view.'
Spot gold was bid up at $1268.30 in early European trading and silver also moved up at $17.42 an ounce.
Finally, gold prices have started heading south this week. Prices of yellow metal tumbled to an eight-month low of Rs 8,600 per 10 gm
A strengthening rupee following a sharp surge in the inflow of foreign money from investors and "illegal imports" were among some of the reasons for the fall.
Sentiment turned bearish in the absence of buying support.
This is good news for the central government at a time when crude oil prices are rising.
From its March 2020 low, Bitcoin has gained a massive 474 per cent and has surged 214 per cent year-to-date.
As the raids were completed, the I-T team took two managers of the distillery located at Sutapada to an unknown location for interrogation, they said.
Veterans recall they haven't seen gold falling for 3 years in a row.
By December 2015, the total imports will touch 1000 tonnes.
Gold prices plunged on the bullion market in New Delhi on Wednesday on aggressive offloading by the stockists and traders, sparked by a sharp fall in overseas markets. Silver, too, met with frantic selling pressure due to the prevailing overall trend. Standard gold (99.5 purity) tanked by Rs 305 per ten grams to close at Rs 17,305 from overnight's closing level of Rs 17,610. Pure gold (99.9 purity) dropped by a similar margin to end at Rs 17,395 from Rs 17,700 on Tuesday.
Spot gold dropped at $ 1,081.85 an ounce in early European trade and silver dipped $ 14.64 an ounce.
People who have no access to or do not trust the financial system are the only ones for whom investing in gold makes sense, says Naval Goel.
Meanwhile, retail jewellery sales in India have declined by 50 per cent since gold price started its uptrend nearly two weeks. Buyers deferred their fresh purchase amid expectations of a correction in gold prices from the current high level.
Silver has a dual role - 60 per cent of the total silver produced is used for industrial purposes in the electrical & electronics segment and photovoltaic demand mostly for solar panels.
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