Gold, silver coins sparkle on Dhanteras, jewellery loses sheen

New Delhi: Gold and silver coins, including those bearing Ashok Chakra, are getting some extra shine on Dhanteras on Monday instead of jewellery as consumers are on a buying spree lured by lower prices.

Dhanteras is considered to be an auspicious day for buying gold, silver and other valuables and is largely celebrated in North and West India.

According to jewellers and MMTC-PAMP India, the buying activity remained robust in the first half of the day at most places. But more sales are expected later in the day, with office-goers coming in for buying late in the evening.

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"Consumers are buying for an auspicious reason. More than jewellery, there is a strong demand for gold and silver coins. We see sales of gold coins to rise by up to 25 percent and silver coins may double from last Dhanteras," MMTC-PAMP India President (marketing) Vipin Raina told PTI.

There's demand for Ashok Chakra coins as well, which were launched recently by the Prime Minister and are being sold through 125 MMTC outlets across the country, he added.

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Raina felt that demand for gold and silver, which has improved in the last few days buoyed by low prices, is "certainly better" than last year's.

Bombay Bullion Association former president Suresh Hundia said, "There is more demand for gold and silver coins in smaller value up to 10 grams. The jewellery demand is not much despite prices being lower by Rs 1,000 per 10 gram compared with the previous Dhanteras."

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The brisk buying is continuing at Khanna Jewellers, P P Jewellers, Manohar Lal Sarraf and Sons Jewellery, Radhey Shyam and Co Jewellers and Omsons Jewellers, among others, in Delhi.

The complete sales figures would be known late at night.

Gold prices in the national capital have risen by Rs 120 per 10 grams today from the previous close, but the rates are lower by over six percent at Rs 26,230 today, as against Rs 27,925 on Dhanteras in 2014.

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Similarly, silver prices are ruling down at Rs 35,410 per kg today, compared with Rs 39,000 last Dhanteras.

India is the world's largest gold consumer and imports a sizeable chunk of its total annual consumption of around 900-1,000 tonnes.