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Informist, Friday, Apr. 17, 2026

 

MUMBAI – Gold demand in India is expected to be supported by the summer wedding season and key buying occasions such as Akshaya Tritiya and regional festivals. Price stability is also expected to encourage purchases, according to Kavita Chacko, research head, India, at the World Gold Council.

 

In March, gold prices saw a sharp decline in both the US dollar and rupee terms, marking one of the weakest monthly performances in nearly 13 and 12 years, respectively. "Prices fell by 12% in USD and 8% in INR terms, with the relatively lower decline in domestic prices linked to the depreciation in the INR (by 4%)," Chacko said. By Apr. 13, prices had partly recovered but were still over 13?low the peak in January. 

 

Meanwhile, domestic gold prices continued to trade at a discount to international prices since mid-February, with discounts widening further in March to an average of $46 per ounce from $15 per ounce. "Discounts have since narrowed significantly, averaging ~US$8/oz ($8 per ounce) over the first two weeks of April," Chacko said. The narrowing discount was due to tighter supply, driven by import restrictions on certain platinum alloys and broader restrictions on gold, silver, and platinum jewellery imports. 

 

In the first half of March, demand was weak due to seasonality, financial year-end factors, and price volatility, with many buyers delaying purchases during the spike, Chacko said. It improved slightly as prices eased around festivals, but remained subdued overall.

 

Retailers focused on marketing campaigns and promotional offers to drive sales. Exchange of old gold jewellery remained a key contributor, reportedly accounting for 40–50% of sales, while investment demand for bars and coins continued to be robust. 

 

Listed jewellery retailers posted strong performance in the first quarter, with revenue up 32–124% on year, their best quarter of the financial year for several retailers. "Retailers also benefited from an increase in the average ticket size of purchases, growth in plain gold jewellery, and a sharp rise in coin sales," Chacko said.

 

"Q1 2026 recorded the strongest quarterly inflows into Indian gold ETFs, with net inflows of INR 316 bn (billion), resulting in an addition of approximately 20t to total holdings," Chacko said. Notably, nearly 80% of these inflows were concentrated in January, reflecting strong investor sentiment amid the rally in gold prices. Gold ETFs' share in mutual fund assets under management rose sharply to 2.3% from 0.9% a year ago.

 

Digital gold purchases through Unified Payments Interface stayed strong in February, though they were lower than January's record high. 

 

Meanwhile, gold holdings stayed broadly stable, despite a 4?ll in Reserve Bank of India forex reserves to $697 billion over the five weeks to Apr. 3. The RBI added a marginal 17 tonnes to its gold holdings in the week ended Apr. 3, taking total gold reserves to 880.5 tonnes, accounting for 17% of total reserves up from 12% a year ago.

 

Gold imports fell sharply in March, declining 30% on month and 59% on year to $3.1 billion, a nine-month low. In volume terms, imports are estimated at 20–25 tonnes, well below the 12-month average of 62 tonnes.  End

 

US$1 = INR 92.93

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

 

Reported by Reshma Ravi

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

 

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