Akshaya Tritiya 2018: Token purchase helps yellow metal's price go up

On the occasion of Akshaya Tritiya today, as expected, plenty of Indians made token purchases of gold and silver, which helped the yellow metal's price to go up a second day running. However, a subdued trend overseas capped the gains at home - globally gold prices slipped fell 0.18 per cent to $1,344.80 an ounce in Singapore. So at home the precious metal posted an uptick of just Rs 30 to Rs 32,380 per 10 grams at the bullion market on Wednesday. It had gained Rs 350 on Tuesday.

Akshaya Tritiya is considered to be an auspicious day to make purchases of valuables particularly jewellery, gold coins, diamond and other gold items. According to All India Sarafa Association Vice-President Surinder Kumar Jain, the festival has boosted the sales of jewellery and other gold items by almost 15 per cent today and it is expected to pick up further later in the day. "A series of offers from leading jewellery houses such as lower making charges and other incentives too attracted increased demand from consumers," said Rakesh Anand of RK Jewellers.

Traders said that, token purchases apart, the depreciating rupee was supporting the upside in gold prices. A weak rupee, which slipped to a near seven-month low against the dollar, translates to costlier imports costlier, and that in turn prompts gold to trade higher.  Gold prices have, in fact, risen by over 9 per cent since the last Akshaya Tritiya.
In tandem with gold, silver ready rose by Rs 150 to Rs 40,450 per kg and weekly-based delivery by Rs 250 to Rs 39,490 per kg. Silver coins, however, held steady at Rs 75,000 for buying and Rs 76,000 for selling of 100 pieces. Gold sovereigns, too, remained flat at Rs 24,900 per piece of eight grams in limited deals.

If you are still planning to make a big-ticket purchase on this auspicious occasion, Anuj Puri, Chairman, ANAROCK Property Consultants, has a suggestion. "You may not really need a gold coin or vouchers, probably already own a decent car, and a family holiday abroad may not make much sense if you would rather stay put and focus on your career for now. However, a free parking space, waived stamp duty and registration fees and maintenance-free periods do add to your savings, and therefore to the value of the deal," he told MoneyControl, pointing out that realty developers are taking the advantage of the current positive sentiments floating in the market and offering the best of the schemes, goodies and offers to attract buyers.

With PTI inputs