Wedding season woes: Shoppers face dire straits as gold prices see huge jump

Kolkata: Gold prices in the city continued its rally and with the surge in the price of gold ahead of the wedding season buyers of the yellow metal are in a fix. Moreover, the goldsmiths are also apprehending that the price of gold is likely to increase further in the near future.

On Saturday, standard gold ended at Rs 39,931 per 10 gram, up Rs 873 or 2.24 per cent over Friday's market close.

"On January 4, the cost of 10 gram of gold including GST was Rs 41, 250. On Friday the rate was Rs 41,230. The cost of 10 gram of gold in May 2019, was Rs 32, 600. This is a big jump in rate of gold. However, there are reasons for the spike in rates include the US strike in Baghdad that killed Iranian major general Qassem Soleimani on Friday. This apart, America's federal bank has started reducing the rate of interest. The big players in the market are targeting it

for investments. The face value of Indian currency is also depreciating," said Samar Kumar De, working president of Swarna Shilpa Bachao Committee.

He reiterated that nowadays China is also securing gold. "In my opinion, the price of 10 gram of gold will cross the Rs 42,000 mark by the end of January or February this year. The wedding season is nearby. For those who have not completed the gold shopping, they should buy it as soon as possible," he added.

It might be mentioned that August 2019, has been considered as black August because one gram gold price jumped from Rs 3,300 to Rs 3,900. This apart, 60 per cent customers who come to Bawbazar, a gold hub in the city, for Dhanteras are from villages. They had stopped coming after the new rule of furnishing Pan card was introduced for buying gold.

"Buying gold has become a difficult task for us. Gold is considered as auspicious gifts for wedding and engagement ceremonies. We thought of giving gifts to our relatives for their marriage or other such occasions. However, we are now looking for different options," said Pradip Ghosh, a resident of Garden Reach, who was buying gold at a shop in Bowbazar.

"I am lucky enough that I already bought gold for my younger brother's wedding three weeks ago. At the time the cost of 10 gram of gold was around Rs 38,000," said Raisa Akhtar, a housemaker and resident of Bright Street.