New Delhi/Bullion Desk. Just a day before Karva Chauth, the biggest festival of married couples, the shine of the yellow metal has increased further in the bullion markets across the country. Due to the huge local demand for jewelery due to the festive season and the turmoil at the global level, gold prices have once again registered a strong rise. From Delhi to Mumbai, Lucknow and Chennai, gold prices have reached near their new record levels. This sudden surge in this peak period of festive shopping has put an extra burden on the pockets of common consumers planning to buy jewelery for Karva Chauth and the upcoming Dhanteras-Diwali.
In the bullion market of the national capital Delhi, the price of 24 carat pure gold has increased to the level of around ₹ 1,44,163 per 10 grams, while the rate of 22 carat gold, which is most used in jewellery, is trading around ₹ 1,32,053 per 10 grams. At the same time, due to local taxes and high demand in Chennai, the major trading center of South India, the prices remain at the highest level in the country, where 24 carat gold has crossed the figure of ₹ 1,45,460 per 10 grams and 22 carat gold has crossed the figure of ₹ 1,33,240 per 10 grams. In the financial capital Mumbai and major markets of Uttar Pradesh like Lucknow and Kanpur, 24 carat gold is being seen in the range of ₹ 1,44,300 per 10 grams. Talking about 18 carat gold jewellery, its rates also remain between ₹ 1,08,100 to ₹ 1,09,100 per 10 grams.
The tradition of buying gold bangles, mangalsutra, nose ring, chain and ring as a token of marital bliss on the occasion of Karva Chauth is centuries old. According to bullion traders, despite the high prices, the crowd of customers in the markets has not reduced, although a clear change is visible in the purchasing pattern. Instead of heavy traditional jewellery, middle class families and working women are now giving more preference to lightweight and 18 to 22 carat designer jewellery. Apart from this, many consumers are also making advance booking of digital gold and gold coins anticipating further increase in prices, so that delivery can be taken only on the day of Dhanteras.
Market experts believe that the reason for this recent rise in domestic prices of gold is not limited to local festive demand only, but strong international factors are also working behind it. Global geopolitical tensions, continued uncertainty over interest rates from the US central bank Federal Reserve and continued aggressive buying of gold by central banks around the world have kept gold as a safe-haven in the international markets. Bullion analysts estimate that as long as the wedding and festival season continues, there is very little scope for any major fall in gold prices and prices may remain strong with limited fluctuations. Customers are being advised to check the 6 digit Hallmark Unique Identification (HUID) number of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) while making purchases, so that there is no doubt about the authenticity.