Chennai: Gold demand fell 15% to 118 tons in the March quarter. However, value-wise demand increased by 22% as Indians spent Rs 940 crore in gold metal in the last quarter. Akshaya Tritiya sold about Rs 180,000 crore on Wednesday, worth gold jewelry and other items.
Gold demand in the March quarter fell to 118.1 tons from 139 tons in the same quarter last year. However, the high price is worth as high as Rs 768,200 crore last year, up 22 per cent, according to the World Gold Council.
Jewelry demand fell 25% to 71.4 tons, while investment demand increased 7% to 46.7 tons. Gold imports also increased by 8%, reaching 167.4 tons.
Jewelers believe that major occasions such as Akshaya Tritiya and the upcoming wedding season will continue to support consumer buying sentiment.
GJC President Saiyam Mehra said on Akshaya Tritiya, gold jewelry and other items worth Rs 18,000 crore, although the amount of about 18 tons of gold is 5% to 7% lower than last year.
Another Rs 200 million of silver jewelry and related items were sold on Wednesday. Prices dropped from Rs 10,000 per 10g per 10g class to support customers to purchase. Although jewelers have seen high steps, customers have purchased lightweight jewelry as a purchase of tokens.
According to Colin Shah, MD, Kama Jewelry, people are seeing people invest heavily in gold coins against the backdrop of rising gold prices.
“Gold retailers are optimistic about favorite buying behavior through the rest of the festival season, despite ongoing tarriff-related uncertainties. The 8 per cent rise in gold imports to 167.4 tonnes in Q1 2025 further reformes this supply-side preparedness by Indian jewellery retailers. In contrast, gold recycling fell by 32 per cent to 26 tonnes, as consumers retained their holdings amid record-high prices,” said Sachin Jain, CEO of India Region, World Gold Council.
WGC estimates that despite the price increase, demand for gold in India is still between 700-800 tons.
