Akshay Tritiya, Eid bring buzz back to jewellery stores in Kolkata

KOLKATA: The bearish gold jewellery market in the city started looking up a bit with the double festival bonanza - Akshay Tritiya and Eid - on Saturday. However, sales at most of the stores remained lower than last year's Akshay Tritiya.
"Many customers have utilised the monthly gold scheme and scheduled their delivery on Akshay Tritiya. Demand for coins and bars remained as usual.We are expecting 7%-10% growth in Akshay Tritiya sales in value terms compared to last year. As Sunday is the second day of Akshay Tritiya, we are hopeful of decent sales," said Suvankar Sen of Senco Gold and Diamonds.
At Bowbazar, cars were parked along B B Ganguly Street, but the serpentine queues in front of jewellery shops were missing. "Most of the shops in the Bowbazar area observe Poila Boisakh as the day for Haalkhata Pujo (the first day of the Bengali calendar by opening a new ledger). However, we also celebrate Akshay Tritiya as the day is auspicious to the Bengalis," said Bablu De, president of the Swarnashilpo Bachao Forum.
At Gariahat, jewellers saw a decent turnout but the footfall was less compared to last year. "There is confusion among buyers as Akshay Tritiya overlaps Saturday and Sunday. A large section of the crowd link Akshay Tritiya with the sunrise. Today, Akshay Tritiya started at 7.45am - much after the sunrise. We are expecting the crowd on Sunday," said Rupak Saha, zonal member of Gem and Jewellery Trade Council of India. "The confusion was palpable as a lot of buyers made enquiries since the morning," he added.
City jewellers also blamed the heat. "Mercury has been on the rise over the past few days although Saturday was relatively comfortable. That might have affected the late afternoon rush that is expected on Akshay Tritiya," said Shubadip Roy of Bengal Jewellery. "We have had a decent sale during the Ramadan month," he added.
Meanwhile, gold price at Kolkata hovered around Rs 58,880 (22 karat) per 10gm. Last year, it was at Rs 50,290 on Akshay Tritiya. "Gold was never cheap. If you take a historical perspective, gold has always been associated with aspirations and not need. It is also considered to be a safe haven for investors. We had a good sale on Poila Boisakh despite an increase in prices," said Anargha Uttiyo Chowdhury of Anjali Jewellers.