Jewellers say buyers have been investing more in the yellow metal to cash in on the uptrend in prices. "Price rise has not stopped people from buying gold jewellery for the wedding season. We are expecting a 10-15% growth in gold jewellery buying this season," Bachhraj Bamalwa, founder partner of Nemichand Bamalwa, said.
Reports say India imported over 900 tonne of gold in 2010 as consumers expected prices to climb further. On Tuesday, gold prices on the National Spot Exchange were ruling at Rs 20,965 per 10 gram. For the MCX April contract, 995 gold was down 0.27%, touching Rs 20,669 per 10 gm owing to mild profit-taking and lack of bullish news.
The price rise has brought a change in design trend and people are now seeking light-weight jewellery with a heavy look. To cater to this, most of the jewellery chains in West Bengal have come out with light gold designs that suit the pockets of the middle class, the largest consumer of gold jewellery in India. However, jewellers say traditional heavy jewellery continues to be popular for marriages. "Although value-wise, there is a growth of 10-15%, volume-wise there has not been much growth," pointed out Pankaj Parekh, chairman (eastern region) of Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council .
"The consumer knows that prices are bound to remain firm and hence there is no impact on the shopping. We expect sales to pick up in April," said Akhil Jain, owner of Chandigarh-based Nikka Mal Babu Ram Jewellery Arcade .
In Tamil Nadu and Kerala, gold buying is being fuelled by the fear of a further rise in prices, which have risen 30% from last year.
"Consumers keep on buying gold as they feel prices will shoot up. Besides purchase of gold as an investment, there is also a strong demand for ornaments as the wedding season begins in April," said TS Kalyanaraman, MD of Kalyan Jewellers. He said gold prices have been predicted to move up from the current level of Rs 1,950 per gm to Rs 2,300 in the next fiscal.
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