Indian expatriates in the UAE have been rushing to stores to buy gold on the occasion of Dhanteras, the festival of wealth and prosperity, traders said.
However, while some stores said the response has been good with more sales compared to previous years, others have reported a fall in sales.
The festival marks one of biggest shopping days of the year as devotees purchase gold and silver both as jewellery and as metal along with other precious metals. The custom also requires them to purchase new household utensils.
Giving an estimate of sales until Wednesday noon, Joyalukkas Jewellery reported good sales and estimated an increase of 15 per cent compared to previous year’s sales.
“Since the stores opened their doors this morning, the sales have been good. If this trend continues we are expecting sales to increase by almost 10 to 15 per cent compared to the previous year,” said Tomy Joseph, General Manager, Sales and Marketing at Joyalukkas Jewellery.
Price of gold dropped slightly on Wednesday. Price of one gram of 22 carat gold dropped by a marginal 50 fils and was priced at Dh152.50.
The current price of an ounce of gold is $1,360.
Meanwhile, Ranjith KV of Malabar Gold said morning sales were not as expected but hoped for a better result in the evening.
“It is mostly the north Indians who are our customers on the occasion of Dhanteras. There is a specific timing when they buy gold. The best time is between 6.30am to 9.30am and in the evening. Our sales so far have been about 20 per cent down compared to 2009. We are expecting a pick-up in the evening and make up for the dim morning sales,” he said.
According to Ranjith, people are buying jewellery more than coins.
“Although it is ideal to buy coins if you are purely planning it as an investment, jewellery sales have clearly outnumbered the sale of gold coins,” he added.
People continue to invest in gold hoping the price to increase further. That is the mentality,” said Joseph.