Gold imports up 179% in December

The government hiked the import tariff value on gold to $362 per 10 grams in accordance with global prices. The Dollar Business Bureau

The surge in imports of gold and silver further widened the trade deficit gap to a four-month high at $11.66 billion in December 2015.

Despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s desperate attempts to curb gold imports, India’s yellow metal imports skyrocketed by over 179% to about $3.81 billion in December last year. The inbound shipments of gold in December 2014 stood at a little over $1.36 billion. Imports of silver also registered an upsurge, growing at 158% to $472 million in December 2015 from the $182.30 million in the same month a year ago, according to the latest data released from the Commerce Ministry. The surge in imports further widened the trade deficit gap to a four-month high at $11.66 billion. Many market analysts have attributed the growth in imports to a dip in global gold prices. During April-December 2015-16, gold imports increased to $26.45 billion as compared to $25.85 billion during the corresponding period of last year. Meanwhile, the government, last week, hiked the import tariff value on gold to $362 per 10 grams in accordance with global prices. However, the import tariff value on silver was reduced to $443 per kg. The import tariff value is usually revised on a fortnightly basis keeping in mind the price trends in the global market and rupee situation. The government has been coming up with periodic modification to the gold monetisation scheme, in order to lessen imports of the metal. Last week, the Ministry of Finance announced that it will pay banks a 2.5% commission for mobilising gold under the gold monetisation scheme, and it will also permit the depositors a premature withdrawal of their deposits.

February 01, 2016 | 6:06pm IST.

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The Dollar Business Bureau - Feb 01, 2016 12:42 IST

Gold imports up 179% in December

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