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Chandigarh: Gold shines but auto sales dip this Dhanteras
Gold shines this Dhanteras and despite high rates, people made purchases; auto sales dipped due to shortage in supply
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Markets filled up for the first time since the pandemic on Tuesday on the occasion of Dhanteras. The sale of jewellery of both gold and silver picked up significantly with jewellers reporting much higher numbers than the previous year even as automobile sales remained low due to the shortage in supply.
Vinod Talwar, president, Jewellers’ Association, Chandigarh, said, “Last year our sales were dismal and this year we had sold more than twice just by the evening time. The situation has improved now.”
Talwar added that the rates had also climbed high on Tuesday, but this also didn’t stop people. “The rate of 24 karat gold was around ₹49,500 for 10 grams. Silver was for ₹68,000 per kg. Both prices had increased in recent days, but still people waited till Dhanteras to make their purchases.”
Speaking about which jewellery was the most popular, Chandigarh Jewellers Association president Rajeev Sahdev said, “Throughout the year silver sales are more than gold, but on Dhanteras we saw more gold sales. People buy gold either in coin form or in jewellery like necklaces, pendants or mangalsutras depending on their needs. The sale of silver coins also jumped on Tuesday.”
It is also considered auspicious to purchase automobiles on Dhanteras. However, this year sales remained low. Vice-president of the Federation of Chandigarh Regional Automobile Dealers Ranjeev Dahuja said, “The overall sales have dropped from around 1,000 vehicles last year to around 500 this year due to the shortage of supply. The demand, however, remains high and SUVs continue to remain most popular in Chandigarh.”
Explaining the shortage, Nitin Mehan who owns Autopace Chandigarh, a Maruti Suzuki dealership, added, “There is a global shortage of semi-conductor chips which has impacted the automobile industry. Our supply has also been affected.”
Due to this, there were no attractive discounts on Dhanteras and the waiting period for popular cars has reached up to 1 year.
The sale of two-wheelers also remained on the lower side. Senior vice-president of Platinum Honda for the tricity Sushil Dutta said, “The fact that Dhanteras was on Tuesday also affected the sales. Around 10-15% people who had booked their two-wheelers for Tuesday rescheduled for Wednesday and Thursday as they didn’t want to buy a vehicle on a Tuesday.”
