Gold, jewellery glitter as Dhanteras witnesses robust sales this year

Dhanteras witnessed strong sales of gold, jewellery and coins this year, data from jewellers showed.

Given the sales performance of the two-day festival (Saturday and Sunday), the industry expects up to 35 per cent growth in business this year over last year.

Dhanteras is regarded as the most auspicious occasion in the Hindu calendar for buying items like precious metals, utensils and other valuables. Many people also buy vehicles.

In normal years, 20-30 tonnes of gold is sold on a Dhanteras day.

Sunday saw a lull of a few hours because of the India-Pakistan T20 World Cup match. Activity, however, picked up after the match ended and brisk sales were reported from across India.

"The response has been very good since Saturday as overall the market has been buoyant across the country. ...We expect a 10-15 per cent increase in sales from the 2021 level on strong pent up demand after the pandemic," PTI reported quoting Ashish Pethe, All India Gem And Jewellery Domestic Council chairman.

Despite gold being priced slightly higher this year, consumers were not deterred.

Sunday's gold prices were at Rs 50,139 per 10 grams, excluding taxes, in Delhi — higher than the Rs 47,644 on last year's Dhanteras.

Dhanteras sales this year were better by 15-25 per cent than last year, World Gold Council Regional CEO, India, Somasundaram PR, told PTI.

"Though it is difficult to estimate demand on a particular day, from industry accounts, it appears that Navratri followed by Dhanteras has heralded a period of high demand and this should be reflected in other metrics in the next few weeks," he said.

Dhanteras falling on weekends helped boost sales, Maharashtra-based PNG Jewellers chairman and managing director Saurabh Gadgil said. "We expect a 25-30 per cent increase in sale volume from over the last year", he said. This year, 80 per cent of sales were jewellery and the rest bullion, he added.

According to PM Shah Jewellers MD Dinesh Jain, "Extraordinary demand and sales were reported so far. We expect a 30-35 per cent increase in sales volumes and a 40-45 per cent rise in value terms during the two-day festival."

Kalyan Jewellers India Executive Director Ramesh Kalyanaraman said, "We registered robust pre-bookings for purchases this Dhanteras."