Akshaya Tritiya: gold sales likely to pick up

Ahead of Akshaya Tritiya, consumers buying gold ornaments at a showroom in Visakhapatnam.

Ahead of Akshaya Tritiya, consumers buying gold ornaments at a showroom in Visakhapatnam.   | Photo Credit: C.V.Subrahmanyam

Traders heave a sigh of relief after a prolonged dull season

Despite surge in gold price, jewellery stores have been witnessing considerable footfalls for the past few days. With Akshaya Tritiya falling on Wednesday, jewellers say it’s time to heave a sigh of relief after a prolonged lean season owing to GST rollout followed by muted market conditions, inauspicious days) combined with a couple of other factors that have impacted the jewellery sales to a substantial extent.

From ₹2,870 per gram, the gold rate (22 carat) for the past one week has been hovering between ₹2,926 and ₹2,992 per gram. However, jewellery players say the price hike is barely affecting the quantum of sales both in terms of direct purchase or advance bookings. The reason for this is mainly attributed to the wedding season and arrival of festivals wherein a majority of consumers make a compulsory purchase of jewellery and thus setting a positive trend in the market.

“In coastal Andhra, the sentiment of buying gold during Akshaya Tritiya is high. As the festival coincides with ‘Chandanotsavam’, the demand for ornamental jewellery as well as gold coins (Lakshmi kasu) shoots up. Those who make wedding purchase too prefer to buy jewellery on Akshaya Tritiya and hence the increase in the sale volume,” says J. Raghunath, general manager (marketing) of Vaibhav Jewellers.

Notwithstanding the current gold price, Mr. Raghunath indicated that there might be a variation in terms of total number of grams bought by the consumers, but the sale volume remains intact.

Price may go up

Vice-president of Andhra Pradesh Bullion Merchants and Diamonds Association G. Narasimhachari said gold price is further expected to go up in future. “After a period of almost nine months, the jewellery business is gradually picking up. However, from the present rate, 22 carat gold is likely to touch ₹3,000 per gram in the coming days,” Mr. Narasimhachari told The Hindu.

“For the past 15 years, we have been investing in gold jewellery during Akshaya Tritiya as we believe that it brings prosperity. Since the price is high this year, we intend to settle for a pair of earrings or a light-weight piece,” says S. Sailaja, home-maker residing at Peda Waltair .