Gold sales seen rising on wedding season

The ensuing wedding season and the auspicious day of Akshaya Tritiya or Akha Teej are likely to push up the sale of gold in the country.

In the last two-three years, the sale of gold, especially the traditional jewellery, has seen a 10 per cent rise, said the Mumbai-based bullion consultant Bhargava Vaidya of BN Vaidya & Associates.

"Better awareness, especially in the south, and increased advertisements have helped in boosting the jewellery sales," he said.

Sanjeev Agarwal, managing director, Indian subcontinent, World Gold Council (WGC) said, "Along with the promotions in the southern states, we have also introduced campaigns in some stores in the north and the west. These have resulted in good sales so far.

"Compared with the overall offtake of 12-15 tonne on Akshaya Tritiya, last year, we expect the offtake to go up by over 30 per cent this year."

Arun S Kaigaonkar, chairman of the Mumbai-based Chintamani Jewellers and president of the Bombay Gold Club, also sounded optimistic. "Sales of gold jewellery today have been roughly 30-40 per cent higher. However, this being the wedding season the sales are more in volume terms."

The sale of gold coins through banks have also picked up.

ICICI Bank, which sells coins through its 350 branches, has reported a growth of over 10 per cent in sales over the last fortnight.

The WGC has introduced a number of promotional offers this year, such as home delivery for the jewellery purchased over Rs 25,000, facilities for advance booking, credit card discounts of 10 per cent for ICICI card holders, and express counters for gold coin purchases.

WGC has also introduced the Akshay Saving Scheme whereby, investments in gold on Akshaya Tritiya could win Rs 1,000 and above on the same day next year.