Indian gold bar imports halved in June: GJEPC

NEW DELHI (Scrap Monster):  The most recent statistics published by India’s Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) suggests significant decline in gold bar imports by the country during the month of June this year. The cumulative gold bar imports during the first quarter (April to June) of the year registered sharp decline. The imports of Silver bars too dropped sharply during the month as well as during the first quarter of the fiscal year.

Gold Bar Imports

According to GJEPC data, the gold bar imports by the country more than halved during June this year. The monthly import statistics indicate that the total gold bar imports by the country during June ‘17 amounted to Rs 1,127.52 crores (USD 174.97 Million). In rupee terms, the gold bar imports have declined sharply by nearly 53% over the year. The decline in dollar terms stood at 50.9%. It must be noted that the country’s gold bar imports during June last year were valued at Rs 2,399.54 crores (USD 356.54 Million).

Meantime, the June ’17 gold bar imports recovered modestly when compared with the imports during the month before that. The country’s gold bar imports had totaled Rs 887.46 crores (USD 137.76 Million) in May 2017.

The cumulative gold bar imports by the country during the initial three-month period (Apr ’17 to June ’17) of the current fiscal year declined sharply over the previous year. The imports plunged by nearly 59% year-on-year from Rs 9,233.64 crores (USD 1,381.00 Million) to Rs 3,668.21 crores (USD 569.12 Million) during Q1 this fiscal.

Silver Bar Imports

The GJEPC figures suggest modest decline in Silver bar imports by the country during the month of June this year. The country’s Silver bar imports reported 18% decline during the month when matched with the imports during the same month a year before. The imports totaled INR 24.09 crores (USD 3.74 Million). In rupee terms, the Silver bar imports have declined by 17.6% when matched with the previous year. The year-on-year decline in dollar terms stood at 13.8%. It must be noted that the country’s Silver bar imports had totaled INR 29.23 crores (USD 4.34 Million) in June 2016.

However, GJEPC data indicates that silver bar imports by the country in June recorded significant increase when compared with the previous month. The imports were up by nearly 25% when compared with May this year. The country’s Silver bar imports had totaled INR 19.27 crores (USD 2.99 Million) during May 2017.

The silver bar imports during the first three months of the current fiscal year totaled INR 63.16 crores (USD 9.80 Million). The quarterly imports reduced by one-third when compared with the imports of INR 98.54 crores (14.72Million) during Apr-June ’16.