India's Gold Bar Imports Skyrocketed 67%

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) monthly trade data suggests notable jump in imports of gold bars by the country during the initial eight months of the fiscal year. The Apr-Nov ’18 gold imports by the country surged higher by nearly 67%. Meantime, the monthly imports reported marginal decline in Nov ’18, when compared with the year-ago month.

India imported $5,476.33 million worth of gold bars during Apr-Nov ’18. This is higher by 66.53% when compared with the corresponding eight-month period in 2017. The country’s import of gold bars had totaled only $3,414.75 million during April to November in 2017. In rupee terms, the imports rose by nearly 79%. The gold bar imports by the country totaled $518.50 million in November this year, marginally lower by 3.82% when matched with the imports of $539.12 million during Nov ’17.

Meantime, the country’s silver bar imports recorded sharp decline in November. The imports at $2.33 million were down by over 49% over the previous year. India had imported $4.60 million worth of silver bars in Nov ’17. The combined imports during the initial eight month s of fiscal 2019 too were down sharply by almost 34% year-on-year from $43.80 million to $28.49 million, said GJEPC data.

The imports of gold jewellery have increased by over 10% during Apr-Nov ’18, whereas those of silver jewellery have recorded 3% decline over the previous year.