Covid 3rd wave fears turn dampener for gold buyers

CUSTOMERs' spirit to purchase gold and silver picks up marginally in the national capital as jewellers reopen the shutter after a long-localised lockdown. BizzBuzz spoke with the buyers and jewellers to know the market's performance and the optimistic future ahead of upcoming religious festivities. 51-year-old Sangeetha Kumar, a resident of Malviya Nagar, South Delhi, explained that although the price of gold seems lucrative, the dampened emotional spirit due to Covid-19 pandemic dissuades her from investing in jewellery. The fear of a possible third wave of Covid has also been a contributing factor in keeping business low at most marketplaces.

"The catastrophe of the ongoing wave has been such that big celebrations do not seem like a viable option. Moreover, the situation seems to be getting better only now. We have postponed marriage functions and other big celebrations for next year," Ms Kumar told BizzBuzz.

As of June 18, gold rates in major metropolitan cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata took a marginal dip compared with the previous day'srates. Gold rate in Delhi for 10 gram of 22-carat Rs 47,000, and that of 10 gram of 24-carat was at Rs50,900 with a slide of Rs 500 and Rs 700 respectively.

Janak Jewellers at the heart of old Delhi's Chandini Chowk is upholding an optimistic view amid third phase of ease of lockdown. "The business has been down even before the second wave. The last 14 months have been stressful for us. But I'm hoping that people will start thronging the market given big festivals like Ganesh Chathurthi and Diwali will be coming up in a few months. By then, I believe, that (Covid) situation will subside. Our only hope is on the acceleration of the vaccination drive," Rajesh Mahanty, owner of the store said.

Earlier this week, Union Minister Piyush Goyal had announced mandatory hallmarking of gold jewellery and artefacts from June 16. The first phase of gold hallmarking will be carried out in 256 districts across the country to ensure better protection and satisfaction of customers, according to the government announcement.