How silver, gold volatility is killing trade, destroying jobs, and taking the joy out of wedding shopping
The mood is sullen from Rajkot’s Pedak Road to Mumbai’s Zaveri bazaar – jewellery makers are sitting on losses, karigars are being laid off, and priced-out buyers are returning disappointed from shops or downgrading buys
At Rajkot’s Pedak Road – often referred to as the city’s silver artery because of the dense concentration of silver traders and manufacturers – Arvind Limbasiya, secretary of the Silver Gold Bullion Association, Rajkot, sits looking forlorn at his office desk. “There is just no work,” he says ruefully. “A bullion trader who was earlier selling 25-30 tonnes of silver each month is now selling barely one tonne.”
The slowdown has spilled into livelihoods. “We open our office, sit for a few hours and by 1 pm everyone goes home,” Limbasiya says. “It’s a struggle to pay workers. Most wholesalers have let go of contractual staff and are only managing salaried employees…nearly 1.5 lakh workers have been affected by this volatility,” he says.
The slowdown has spilled into livelihoods. “We open our office, sit for a few hours and by 1 pm everyone goes home,” Limbasiya says. “It’s a struggle to pay workers. Most wholesalers have let go of contractual staff and are only managing salaried employees…nearly 1.5 lakh workers have been affected by this volatility,” he says.