India's Gold Bar Inflows Surged 62% in December

NEW DELHI (Scrap Monster):  The import data for raw materials for gems and jewellery industry for the month of December last year suggests notable jump in India’s gold bar imports. The trade data released by the apex body Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) also suggests modest growth in imports during the initial three quarters of the current fiscal. Meantime, silver bar imports declined during the month.

Gold Bar Imports

In accordance with the GJEPC data, gold bar imports by the country surged higher by over 62% in December 2017. The monthly import statistics indicate that the total gold bar imports by the country during December ‘17 amounted to Rs 3,739.92 crores (USD 582.18 Million). In rupee terms, the gold bar imports have recorded sharp growth of 62.3% over the year. The rise in dollar terms stood at 71.5%. It must be noted that the country’s gold bar imports during December 2016 were valued at Rs 2,304.50 crores (USD 339.40 Million).

Meantime, the gold bar imports during December 2017 reported marginal jump when compared with the imports during the prior month. The country’s gold bar imports had totaled Rs 3,439.79 crores (USD 530.34 Million) in November last year.

RELATED: India's Gold Bar Imports Surged 143% in November

The cumulative gold bar imports by the country during the initial nine months (Apr ’17 to Dec ’17) of the current fiscal year too recorded modest increase over the previous year. The imports were up by nearly 9% year-on-year from Rs 22,985.88 crores (USD 3,428.85 Million) to Rs 24,979.23 crores (USD 3,871.92 Million) during the first three quarters of this fiscal.

Silver Bar Imports

The Indian silver bar imports tumbled by almost one-fifth during December 2017. The imports dropped by 19.69% when matched with the imports during December 2016. The country’s silver bar imports during the month totaled INR 13.28 crores (USD 2.08 Million). The silver bar import volumes dropped slightly over the previous year during the first nine months of the current fiscal.

The Dec ’17 silver bar imports by the country declined significantly when compared with the previous month. The imports were down sharply by nearly 40% when compared with November 2017. The country’s Silver bar imports had totaled INR 21.93 crores (USD 3.38 Million) during November last year.

The silver bar imports during the first nine months of the current fiscal year totaled INR 262.19 crores (USD 40.68 Million). The imports during this period were down slightly when compared with the imports of INR 264.88 crores (USD 39.52 Million) during Apr-Nov ’16.