India Gold Bar Imports Slumped 98.6%

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The import statistics published by the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) indicates that the country’s gold bar imports declined significantly during the initial two-month period (April ’20-May ‘20) this fiscal.

The combined gold bar imports during the initial two-month period of the current fiscal year totalled $2.20 million. The imports dipped significantly by 98.58%, upon comparison with the imports that had totalled $155.15 million during the corresponding two-month period of the previous fiscal year. The imports dipped from Rs. 1,082.89 crores to Rs. 16.67 crores, in rupee terms, GJEPC data said.

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According to GJEPC, the yearly gold bar imports totalled $7,843.78 million in the previous fiscal year, down by nearly 6% when compared with the February 2018 imports. In rupee terms, the imports amounted to 55,509.18 crores.

Meantime, gold jewellery imports totalled $3.79 million in May 2020. This compares with $20.08 million of imports during May last year.

The imports of silver bar continued to remain subdued at $0.47 million in May this year, substantially lower by over 81% when matched with $2.51 million in the same month a year before. Also, silver jewellery imports declined modestly from $4.01 million in May 2019 to $0.91 million in May this year.