Festive Demand Lifts India's Gold Bar Imports To New Heights

NEW DELHI (Scrap Monster):  The latest import statistics published by the country’s Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) suggests significant jump in imports of gold bar during the month of September this year. However, cumulative gold bar imports during the initial nine-month period of the year were still down when compared with the previous year. On the other hand, silver bar imports dropped significantly during the month.

Gold Bar Imports

In accordance with the GJEPC data, the gold bar imports by the country surged higher by nearly 52% in September this year. The monthly import statistics indicate that the total gold bar imports by the country during September ‘17 amounted to Rs 4,012.49 crores (USD 622.67 Million). In rupee terms, the gold bar imports have increased sharply by 46.53% over the year. The jump in dollar terms stood at 52%. It must be noted that the country’s gold bar imports during September last year were valued at Rs 2,738.35 crores (USD 410.30 Million).

Meantime, the September ’17 gold bar imports reported considerable surge when compared with the month before that. The country’s gold bar imports had totaled Rs 2,744.83 crores (USD 429.08 Million) in August 2017.

The cumulative gold bar imports by the country during the initial half-yearly period (Apr ’17 to Sep ’17) of the current fiscal year registered sharp decline over the previous year. The imports plunged by 26% year-on-year from Rs 16,799.64 crores (USD 2,510.80 Million) to Rs 12,388.05 crores (USD 1,925.66 Million) during the initial six months of this fiscal.

Silver Bar Imports

The GJEPC figures indicate notable decline in Silver bar imports by the country during the month of September 2017. The country’s Silver bar imports plunged by almost 26% during the month when matched with the imports during the same month a year before. The imports totaled INR 29.94 crores (USD 4.65 Million). In rupee terms, the Silver bar imports have declined by 29% when matched with the previous year. The year-on-year fall in dollar terms stood at 26.4%. It must be noted that the country’s Silver bar imports had totaled INR 42.20 crores (USD 6.32 Million) in September 2016.

Also, GJEPC data indicates that silver bar imports by the country in September recorded significant decline when compared with the previous month. The imports declined by more than 30% when compared with August this year. The country’s Silver bar imports had totaled INR 43.21 crores (USD 6.75 Million) during August 2017.

The silver bar imports during the initial half of the current fiscal year totaled INR 176.87 crores (USD 27.50 Million). The imports during this period were up modestly by nearly 11% when compared with the imports of INR 166.27 crores (24.85 Million) during April-September in 2016.