Kolkata/Lucknow/Bhopal/Rajkot, Aug. 17 (ANI): The escalating price of gold because of the tumble of the rupee has left buyers and sellers frustrated in the lead up to the festival season . Meanwhile, businessmen have advised that this is the right time to invest in the metal as the price of gold is likely to appreciate further.
While potential buyers strayed away because of the soaring price, gold sellers have taken a beating across the country.
Anuvrati Dutta, a gold shopkeeper in Kolkata said that their business had taken a beating due to the record spurt in the price of gold.
"There has been a sudden increase in the gold price. ...It has affected the market, there has been a sharp decrease in the sale and the turnover," Dutta said.
As compared to the crowd that flocked the market when the price of gold was affordable till a few months ago, not many customers are at gold jewellery shops since the price rise.
Anand Rastogi, a potential customer in Lucknow said that he was unable to purchase gold jewellery ahead of the festival of Rakhi due to the rise in the price of the yellow metal.
"In the last few days , the price of gold rose by Rs. 4,000 to Rs. 5,000. I am not able to buy anything today as it is beyond my budget. It's a big problem for a common man. Considering the pace at which the price of gold is increasing now, it seems that in the near future we might not be able to even think about buying it," Rastogi said.
Another potential customer, Rajkumar Gupta said that he never expected the price of gold to rise so much and added that he would have to drop his plans for the festivals.
"The rate of gold has increased so much that it has overpowered the purchasing ability of the common man. ...We were thinking of buying something for Diwali and Rakhi but now it seems that the gold price will again touch Rs. 33,000 to Rs. 35,000. The government should think about the people and should reduce the tax. The common man should get the benefit of at least Rs. 1,000. But the government does not think about the common man," said Gupta.
While on the one hand, gold buyers across the country expressed disappointment on the price hike of the metal-especially, when the country is nearing two of the most prosperous festivals-businessmen held a different view saying that it is the right time to invest.
Amit Soni, owner of a shop in Bhopal said that the common man is not affected much by these gold price fluctuations because he purchases according to his necessity, whereas it's the investors who face a problem.
He added that intelligent investors are purchasing gold at this time because they know that prices might rise further.
Traders also say that not only gold but silver is also expected to rise if the rupee continues to weaken. This is because of the trend which shows that gold and silver prices have shot up considerably within a few days.
Gold coins and bars constituted about 36 percent of total demand in 2012. The Government wants to contain imports to "well below" last year's 845 tonnes this year.
The curbs on gold come as India imposed restrictions on foreign exchange outflows in its latest attempt to prop up the rupee.
A record high current account deficit at 4.8 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has made India particularly vulnerable.
Gold futures in India, the world's biggest consumer of the metal, breached the keenly watched Rs. 30,000 mark after a gap of six months as a weaker rupee made the dollar-quoted yellow metal expensive.
The actively traded gold contract for October delivery on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) was 4.23 percent higher at Rs. 30,420 per 10 grams, after hitting a high of Rs. 30,470, a level last seen on February 14. (ANI)
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