North India Statesman
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Ahmedabad: In view of the global economic uncertainty, India's gold imports have declined by 4.23 percent to $ 12.64 billion in the first four months of the current financial year April-July 2024. India had imported gold worth $ 13.2 billion in the same period last year. In the month of July alone, gold imports have declined by 10.65 percent to 3.13 billion as compared to $ 3.5 billion. Apart from this, imports have declined by 38.66 percent in June and 9.76 percent in May as well. However, during the month of April, imports have increased from $ 1 billion to US $ 3.11 billion.
For the entire financial year 2024, India's gold imports grew 30 percent to $45.54 billion. Gold imports have a direct impact on the country's current account deficit and this is why the government is focusing more on sovereign bonds. According to experts, imports have come down due to high gold prices. However, imports are also expected to increase when the festive season starts from September. The recent reduction in import duty will also benefit. Recently in the budget, the government has reduced the import duty on gold and silver from 15 per cent to 6 per cent.
India imports most of its gold from Switzerland. The country is the largest importer of gold with a share of around 40 per cent. Then comes the UAE with around 16 per cent and South Africa with around 10 per cent. Gold accounts for more than 5 per cent of the country's total imports. Despite a fall in gold imports, the country's trade deficit (the difference between imports and exports) widened to $23.5 billion in July and $85.58 billion in the first four months of the current fiscal year.
It is worth noting that after China, India is the second largest consumer of gold in the world. Gold is mainly imported to meet the demand of the jewellery industry. In the first 4 months of the current financial year, the import of gems and jewellery sector has decreased by 7.45 percent to $ 9.1 billion.
