GJEPC: India's gold bar imports surged 20% in January

MUMBAI (Scrap Monster):  The Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) has released the details of imports of raw materials for gems and jewellery for the month of January this year. According to data, the gold bar imports by the country during the month recorded substantial rise of over 20% when matched with the previous year.

The monthly import statistics released by GJEPC suggests that the total gold bar imports by the country during January ‘16 amounted to Rs 1,989.47 crores (USD 295.83 Million).In rupee terms, the gold bar imports have surged higher by 29.7% over the year. The increase in dollar terms stood at 20.01%. It must be noted that the country’s gold bar imports during January 2015 were valued at Rs 1,533.94 crores (USD 246.50 Million).

The cumulative imports of gold bar during the initial ten-month period of the current fiscal year starting April 2015 totaled Rs 20,098.88 crores (USD 3,092.43 Million).

According to GJEPC, the imports of gold jewellery by the country during January this year jumped higher by over 16% when compared with Jan ’15. The country’s gold jewellery imports during January ‘16 totaled Rs 84.68 crores (USD 12.59 Million). During the same month in 2015, the country had imported gold jewellery worth Rs 67.24 crores (USD 10.81 Million).

The January ’16 gold bar imports have declined marginally in comparison with the imports during the month before. The country’s gold bar imports had totaled Rs 2,027.21 crores (USD 304.39 Million) in December 2015.

It must be noted that the above figures are based on prevailing exchange rates. The exchange rate of 1 USD in January this year is considered as Rs. 67.25 against USD and that during January 2015 is taken as 62.23.