Fall in gold price pushes up sales of jewellery in Tiruchi

Bullion market in Tiruchi is witnessing buoyancy since the reduction in basic customs duty on gold, silver, and platinum

Bullion market in Tiruchi is witnessing buoyancy since the reduction in basic customs duty on gold, silver, and platinum.

The basic customs duty on gold and silver has been reduced to 6%, and 6.4% on platinum, from the earlier rate of 15%.

Since the announcement was made in the Union Budget, the prices of precious metals are generally in downtrend, although a few days witnessed a hike. One gram of gold (22 carat) was sold at ₹6,425 on Friday in Tiruchi. It was ₹7,009 for 24 carat.

It was ₹6,825 (22 carat) per gram on July 22, a day before the Union Budget was presented. It went down to ₹6,490, a day after the Budget. Since then, the prices have been hovering around ₹6,450.

According to industry sources, the sharp decline in gold prices has gone well for the bullion trade. Though the Tamil month of Aadi is generally an off season for the jewellery trade, the declining gold prices have infused the people to buy gold and silver. They see the price drop of ₹450 a gram as an opportunity buy gold jewellery.

“We have witnessed buoyancy in sales of gold and silver since a cut in customs duty. People show interest in buying yellow metal. Most traders do good business,” says B. Saravanan, secretary, Tiruchi Jewellery Owners’ Association.

There are about 350 small to medium sized jewellery shops in Tiruchi. Most of them are located on Big Bazaar Street. In addition to them, there are about 15 major jewellery showrooms. According to a rough estimate, jewellery showrooms in Tiruchi trade about seven to eight tonnes of gold a day. The volume of trade is said to have gone up to about 10 tonnes a day due to the decline in the prices of yellow metal.