Say people shying away from buying gold even in festive season due to rising prices Shivani Bhakoo Ludhiana, October 21 Jewellers in the city are a worried lot as rising gold prices has hit the purchasing power of middle and lower class this festive season. Jewellers say the footfall in markets prior to Diwali and Dhanteras used to be overwhelming. “We did not have time to properly attend to the customers a few years back during festival season, but now we are waiting for customers to start making purchases,” they said. Small-time jewellers say they are the worst sufferers as people are shying away from markets even in the festival season. They have held the government responsible for its “bad policies” for ruining the businesses. Secondly, they believe that the change in the mindset of masses is another major factor which prohibits the young generation to invest in the yellow metal. They prefer spending money on electronic gadgets, rather than on gold. Anand Sekri, president of the Ludhiana Jewellers Association, said the government’s policies were bad. Though in the international markets too, the prices of gold had witnessed an increased trend, the Indian Government has increased the GST/taxes on import. The government is getting Rs 2,000 per 10 gram, which is a big amount. “Barring wedding purchases, there are no customers to buy gold. Rising gold prices have also pushed young generation to opt for diamond over gold,” says Anand Sekri. It may be mentioned that some of the leading jewellers, who had opened showrooms on Rani Jhansi Road here, have closed it now because of losses. Only those are continuing who have their set clientele. Not only the jewellers, but corporate houses, too, seem to be affected by the elevated gold prices. Earlier, corporate houses used to purchase gold coins in bulk to gift these to higher officials and staff, but now that trend is missing too. “Rarely gold coins are purchased in bulks. Gold is losing its sheen because of higher prices and less interest taken in the yellow metal by young generation,” said another jeweller. Still jewellers are hopeful that in the coming 4-5 days, the sales will pick up.

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