NEW DELHI: From lightweight gold jewellery to silver coins and traditional decorative items, Dhanteras shopping is seeing demand across categories despite precious metal prices remaining significantly higher than last year.Business during the festival is expected to exceed Rs 1 lakh crore nationwide on Friday, with gold and silver purchases alone projected to cross Rs 60,000 crore, according to the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT).The change in buying preferences is particularly visible in the gold jewellery segment. The All India Jewellers and Goldsmith Federation (AIJGF) said jewellers were seeing greater demand for lightweight ornaments in 14-carat and 18-carat categories as consumers looked for options amid high gold prices.Silver, meanwhile, is finding buyers in the form of coins and decorative products. Traditional auspicious items, including figurines of fish, tortoise and elephants, have also seen increased demand, the federation said.While gold prices have come down marginally over the past week, they are still around 20 per cent higher than they were last year. At the time of reporting, 24-carat gold was trading at Rs 1,41,840 per 10 grams.Dhanteras traditionally draws consumers towards purchases of gold, silver and other goods. This year, the higher cost of precious metals has influenced the nature of these purchases, with lightweight jewellery and relatively smaller-ticket items featuring prominently in market demand.CAIT’s estimate of more than Rs 1 lakh crore covers the overall trading activity expected across the country during the festival. Gold and silver are projected to make up more than Rs 60,000 crore of this business.The actual sales picture is expected to become clearer later in the day.According to AIJGF, it would issue a detailed press release by the evening after evaluating consumer response and sales trends across markets nationwide. Its assessment will cover the day’s performance across gold and silver jewellery, coins and other festive products.
