All eyes on India

India imported a whopping 567t of gold in the first 2 quarters of the Indian fiscal year but then ‘official’ numbers have dropped since increased import restrictions (most recently going from 10 to 15%) slowed things down in August.  But there have been 2 consequences – one is increasing reports of large scale smuggling and the other is a move to increased silver demand, further bolstered by strong jewellery and industrial demand in the country.  The first quarter of FY14 saw a 311% rise in silver imports and year to date they have imported over 4000t which is more than double all of last year.  We are now entering wedding season and then Diwali and in a recent survey of 13,000 Indian’s, over half wanted to buy gold during this festive season.  WGC is now officially urging the Indian Government to taking a longer term holistic approach to its gold restrictions to alleviate the rampant smuggling trade.