An employee arranges gold necklaces on display at his shop in Hyderabad on March 7, 2011. Gold rocketed to an all-time peak at $1,440.32 per ounce last week, as the commodity grew strength from ongoing unrest in the Middle East. AFP PHOTO / Noah SEELAM (Photo credit should read NOAH SEELAM/AFP/Getty Images)


INDIA’S gold imports declined about 5.5 per cent in value term to £22.39 billion ($29.5bn) during April-February of the current financial year, data from India’s commerce ministry showed.

Total imports of the precious metal in the first 11 months of the financial year 2017-18 stood at £23.63bn.  

After witnessing negative growth for three consecutive months – October, November, and December 2018 – imports of the precious metal moved up by 38.16 per cent to £1.75bn in January this year. 

The imports again moved down by 10.8 per cent to £1.95bn in February.       

A declining trend in the commodity prices  may have limited India’s gold imports, market analysts said. 

A major share of the gold imports moves to country’s  jewellery industry.        

India’s total gold imports jumped by 22.43 per cent to 955.16 tonnes in 2017-18, against 780.14 tonnes recorded in 2016-17.     

Meanwhile, India’s gems and jewellery exports too declined by 6.3 per cent to £21.55bn during the first 11 months of the current fiscal.