India's Gold Imports Posted Multifold Surge

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The gold imports by India skyrocketed by 677% over the previous year in May 2022. The boosted imports were mainly on account of strong retail jewellery purchases by consumers, ahead of festival and wedding season. The sharp correction in gold prices led to healthy retail gold sales in the country.

According to Finance Ministry sources, the country imported 110 tons of gold in May this year. This compares with meagre 13 tonnes during the same month a year before. By value, the gold imports amounted to $5.83 billion, as compared with $678 million a year ago. Meantime, the higher gold imports widened the trade deficit, thus putting pressure on the country’s currency.

The gold retailers noted that retail consumers had been eagerly waiting for a correction in gold prices to initiate purchases. he price fall, rightly ahead of the gold buying festival Akshaya Tritiya, came as a blessing. Also, the third wave of Covid-19 pandemic in the country had caused a large number of weddings originally scheduled for Jan-Feb to be deferred to Apr-May, which in turn boosted gold purchases.

Meantime, the country’s gold demand is likely to fall below 60 tonnes in June this year, as demand has started to decline on account of rising gold prices.

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