Gold rush in Delhi, price no bar

Tens of thousands of people jam jewellery shops across the capital on Dhanteras, reports Karan Choudhury.

Tens of thousands of people jammed jewellery shops across the capital on Dhanteras on Wednesday to buy gold, giving a huge fillip to trade in the metal that was priced near its all-time peak internationally, bullion traders said.

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Prices of 10 grams of gold in Delhi were up Rs 210 at Rs 10,650, jewellers said, as some of them reported up to 40 per cent increase in earnings against Dhanteras last year. “There is no place to even stand at most of the jewellery shops in Old Delhi. Most of the ornaments I wanted for my son’s wedding are sold out. So I had to order them again,” said Amita Roy, a businesswoman.

Other jewellers said overall sales volumes were expected to be as much as last Dhanteras as consumers were buying in smaller quantities due to the high price of the metal.

Dhanteras is considered to be an auspicious occasion to buy gold ahead of Diwali. “The stores may be crowded but I still prefer to buy it around this time,” said housewife Neeru Sandhu.

Sudeep Bandyopadhyay, CEO of Reliance Money told PTI that sales were expected to continue until later in the night. Bishen Seth, general secretary of the Chandni Chowk Jewellers Association, said, “People are buying more of pendents and gold coins this year.”

Manjunath Jyotisagarm of Gitanjali Gems told PTI, “We are set to do a business of Rs 20 crore today across the country with a 30-40 per cent increase over last Dhanteras in terms of sales, volume and transactions.”
Gold was near its 28-year high of $850 an ounce in international markets hit by a weakening dollar and crude oil prices touching a record $98 a barrel.