Gold is no more the priority for Indians

New Delhi: Indians love for gold is going down. Imports flumped more than 35 per cent to 54 metric tons in June from a year earlier, told a person who asked to remain to anonymous because the figures are not public. Overseas purchases jumped 40 per cent to 343 tons in the first half from a year ago, according to data from Finance ministry.

Buying remained low as the rupee experienced its flump to a record low to a record low last month resulting in expensive overseas goods. Demand for gold in rural areas is slow as farmers typically go slow on gold purchases from June to August because they are occupied in the seasonal rains to plant crops.

This precious metal has dropped to third position among India’s imports due to the hike in purchases of smartphones and TV’s made electronic goods the second largest item with oil the first.

Ganesh Thiagarajan, a director at Commtrendz Risk Management Services Pvt.Ltd said “ The great performance of equities in India has dented the appetite for safe-haven gold.”