Gold ETF trading sees an uptick on Dhanteras

Gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs), offered by mutual fund houses, saw higher buying interest this Dhanteras compared to last year. According to stock exchanges data, the gold ETFs recorded a turnover of Rs 65 crore, up from Rs 33 crore during last year’s Dhanteras. Market experts said the surge is due to the low prices of gold which have fallen by about 20 per cent since 2013.

Traders said that investors rushed to buy gold on the auspicious occasion which generally sees higher sale of physical gold and other gold-related financial products.

"Gold prices have a long standing history of around 30 years, wherein they have generated positive returns in Indian markets irrespective of the fall witnessed in global markets due to the gradual depreciation of Indian currency and this makes the case strong for investment in gold in Indian markets," said Sugandha Sachdeva, assistant vice president--metals, energy & currency research, Religare Securities.

Last year, gold ETF volumes had taken a beating after government had imposed curbs on import of the precious metals to contain current account deficit.