With gold prices crossing ₹1 lakh for 10 gms, jewellers and goldsmiths in Coimbatore are seeing a slump in sale and demand for jewellery.

“Gold price now is 30% more than the January price. The prices increased 12% since April 1,” said B. Sabarinath, president of the Coimbatore Jewellers Association.

The price of 22 carat gold was ₹7,150 a gm in January and ₹9,290 now, leading to poor demand, he said.

According to B. Muthu Venkatraman, president of the Coimbatore Jewellery Manufacturers Association, even on Tuesday (April 22), gold prices went up $ 42 an ounce between morning and evening. With such price volatility, business was down 80%, he said.

If the price trend continued, there would be unemployment in the jewellery sector, he said.

S.M. Kamal Hasan, president of the Coimbatore Goldsmiths’ Association, said nearly two lakh people were employed directly and indirectly at the one lakh goldsmithies in Coimbatore. With volatility in prices, there was a 70% drop in demand for the goldsmiths in the last one month. The wedding season would start in mid-May and Akshaya Tritiya fell on April 30. “There is no indication of sales picking up during these peak demand days too because of the high prices. So there are no orders for jewellery production,” he said.

The government should come out with support measures, he said.

Courtesy: The Hindu