Indian Demand "Overwhelming" on "Golden Day to Buy Gold"

JEWELRY BUYERS in India stood in line to Buy Gold Friday morning, as shops opened early for the festival of Akshaya Tritiya.

Jewelers reported that the recent fall in Gold Prices has prompted additional interest in Buying Gold.

"The response is just overwhelming," said Balram Garg, managing director and chief executive at PC Jewellers' Group in Delhi. "We are catering to a huge rush at all our showrooms across the country. The mood is upbeat...it seems that those who had not even planned have also turned up today looking at the dip in the prices"

"They started calling in from yesterday evening to lock on this buying opportunity," Harshad Ajemra, owner of JJ Gold House in Kolkata, told Reuters. "Even as I am speaking to you my three phones are ringing."

The Bombay Bullion Association (BBA) said it expected gold purchases for Akshaya Tritiya to total 20 million tonnes. This compares with 15 million tonnes last year.

Akshaya Tritiya is one of the most important festivals in the Hindu calendar. A website dedicated to the festival describes it as "the golden day to Buy Gold".

'Akshaya' means "that which never diminishes", while 'Tritiya' – derived from the Sanskrit word for 'three' – refers to the lunar calendar date on which the festival falls.

Figures from the World Gold Council show India as the world's largest gold market. India accounted for nearly 32% of global demand in 2010, at 963 tonnes of Gold Bullion. The second largest market was China, which bought 579 tonnes.