Gold prices in India to ascend ahead of Akshaya Tritiya

NEW DELHI (Scrap Monster) : The gold purchases are likely to remain expensive in India during the upcoming Akshaya Tritiya gold buying festival. The geopolitical tensions in Yemen have already sent gold to higher terrains during the past week. The domestic gold price in India rose sharply by Rs 700 per 10 grams over the past week. Escalation of tension in the Middle East region is feared to lead to further rise in gold prices.

According to majority of industry participants, the Saudi-Yemen crisis situation and the weakness in Indian Rupee against dollar is likely to have cascading effect on gold prices. This indicates that gold prices are most likely to increase further by Akshaya Tritiya which falls on April 21^st this year.

Yet another dampener for gold purchases during the season will be the new government proposal that mandates submission of PAN card details on purchases of gold worth over Rs 1 lakh. The government is yet to release official notification with regards to this. However, consumers are likely to shy away from gold purchases if the notification is issued before the commencement of the festive season.

Meantime, a delegation of All India Gem and Jewellery Trade Federation (GJF) has scheduled a meeting with the country’s Finance Minister to discuss the issue in detail. The trade body expressed the hope that the official notification will not be issued immediately. According to GJF, the government should rethink on the matter as customers in large have expressed their unwillingness to share personal details with jewelers. Furthermore, GJF urged the government to maintain the current limit of Rs 5 lakhs. Currently, customers are required to furnish PAN details for gold purchases exceeding Rs 5 lakhs.

Jewelers in India are hopeful that gold purchases will remain buoyant during Akshaya Tritiya this year. Despite recent rise, gold prices are still at lower levels when compared with the previous year. Hopes of further rise in gold prices may trigger fresh purchases, they noted.