Gold: Drop in demand drags down India's April imports by 67.3%

Mumbai-India (May 4)  Sluggish demand owing to the jewellers' strike put a dent on India's April gold imports. Shipments of the yellow metal dropped by 67.33 per cent to 19.6 tonnes in April, according to MMTC Pamp.

Among the total imports, bullion shipments plunged to 13.14 tonnes in April 2016 from 54 tonnes in the year-ago period, an MMTC Pamp official said. Poor demand has been cited as the major reason for this slump in imports. “Not much was imported due to poor demand in the wake of jewellers’ strike in April. Whatever gold that was imported in January and February was being used,” the official said.

Jewellers were on strike to register their resentment over the proposed levy of 1 per cent excise duty on non-silver jewellery. The jewellery shops remained shut from March 2 which led to the decline in demand for gold. In 2015-16, the country is estimated to have imported 750 tonnes of gold, as against 971 tonnes in the preceding year.

Source: CommodityOnLine