Big bullion sale: Gold shines amid festive fireworks
Gold sales on Dhanteras surged to a record on Friday amid a revival in growth across consumer products such as smartphones, televisions, home appliances and apparel, as well as restaurants, after more than a year during the ongoing festive season.
Demand for gold in the country increased about 7.7% by volume to an estimated 42 tonnes and 10% by value to ₹22,000 crore, according to the India Bullion and Jewellers Association (IBJA).
Gold prices fell about ₹1,500 per 10 gm in two days to ₹60,400 per gm on Friday, helping drive sales.
Sales of the worst affected mass-to-mid segment products across categories have also seen a slight improvement in this season with single-digit growth, according to companies, retailers and market researchers.
The revival has been driven by urban and semi-urban markets, with the critical rural markets still showing no signs of a recovery, they said.
Dhanteras is considered auspicious for buying gold and jewellery and traditionally records the highest gold, jewellery and electronics sales in India in a single day, while the festive season, the period between Navratri and Diwali, is the peak period for consumer goods sales in the country.
Mobile phone market tracker Counterpoint Research has estimated about 8% volume growth in smartphone sales this festive season, higher than its initial projection of 7% three weeks ago.
