Gold fails to shine in Mumbai amid Syrian crisis, PNB fraud

Akshaya Tritiya is one of the major festivals when people consider it auspicious to buy gold and diamond jewellery.

The Syria crisis and the Nirav Modi fiasco has apparently cast a shadow on the sale of gold and diamond jewellery in the upcoming Akshaya Tritiya Festival on April 18, said jewellers in the city.

The Syria crisis and the Nirav Modi fiasco has apparently cast a shadow on the sale of gold and diamond jewellery in the upcoming Akshaya Tritiya Festival on April 18. (HT File)

Akshaya Tritiya is one of the major festivals when people consider it auspicious to buy gold and diamond jewellery. The subdued sentiment has forced jewellers to come up with various schemes such as luxury cars for winners, free making charges and other discounts.

“The Syrian crisis has increased the gold rate. Moreover, after the Nirav Modi fiasco, people are reluctant to buy diamond jewellery. We are seeing people inquiring about diamonds but ultimately settling for gold,” said Kumar Jain, vice president, Mumbai Jewellers’ Association (MJA),

After the Syrian bombing, gold prices breached Rs32,000 per 10 grams.

Orra, one of the leading brands is offering upto 25% off on diamond jewellery. Both TBZ and Tanishq are giving discounts on making charges. Palak Jewellers is offering free equivalent amount of silver on the gold purchased while Umedmal Trilokchand Zaveri is offering 25% discount on making charges.

Maharashtra clocks a daily sale of approximately Rs175 crore which peaks to Rs350 crore on festive days. However, there are indications of low sales this time. India is the largest market for gold trade and the world’s second largest importer. The bullion trade sector has been going through a rough phase in the past three years. In March-April 2016, the 45-day countrywide strike to protest the levy of excise duty had crippled sales considerably. Before that demonetisation had also played spoiler as people resisted buying gold.