According to data from the Ahmedabad Air Cargo Complex (AACC), 78.95 metric tonnes (MT) of gold was imported in FY 2024, up 88.5% from 41.88 MT in the previous fiscal year. This is the highest gold procurement in the last eight years.
The price of gold is around Rs 71,000 per 10g in the Ahmedabad market.
Though imports dropped in March, the fiscal year was good for the gems and jewellery sector.
Overall demand for the yellow metal remained good. In the initial part of the year, the price of the yellow metal hovered around Rs 58,000, which was a key factor that propelled demand.
Bullion traders also attribute the rise in gold to the India International Bullion Exchange (IIBX), which is seen as a more transparent and reliable channel for gold procurement.
Auspicious muhurats for wedding ceremonies and festivals also kept the demand afloat. The wedding season, from October to February, accounted for about 60% of the total gold purchases during the fiscal year.
“A good monsoon and harvest also fuelled rural demand for gold and silver. About 40% of the demand came from investors and the remaining 60% came from jewellers,” said an Ahmedabad-based jeweller.
A local bullion trader said, the upward trend in gold price was also influenced by the US Federal Reserve’s rate cut announcement and the 2.5% increase in the US personal consumption expenditure (PCE) index observed in February.”
Gold is traditionally viewed as a safe-haven asset and a hedge against inflation, particularly amid global market uncertainties and escalating geopolitical tensions. The recent spike in gold prices reaffirms its status as a high-yielding asset class.
Gold breached the Rs 35,000 mark for the first time in the Ahmedabad market on June 22, 2019, when it settled at Rs 35,035 per 10g. Gold price doubled by 101.2% in just four years, nine months and seven days.
Silver imports also hit yet another high with a 33% increase — they stood at 1,561.8 MT in FY 2024 from 1,173.89 MT in FY 2023. Rising industrial procurement and stable prices led to an increase in demand for silver. The price of silver settled at Rs 75,500 per kg in the domestic market on Monday.
However, the demand for the precious metal plummeted to 0.74 MT during March, as reported by the Ahmedabad Air Cargo Complex (AACC). Gold imports witnessed a drastic 90% decline in March 2024 compared to March 2023, when imports stood at 7.3 MT.
March 2024 marked the lowest level of gold imports in 24 months, following a previous low of 0.14 MT in April 2022.
