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Rediff.com  » Business » Jewellers to stop selling gold bars, coins
This article was first published 11 years ago

Jewellers to stop selling gold bars, coins

Last updated on: July 10, 2013 18:56 IST

Image: Gold bars of one kilogram are placed on a table.
Photographs: Pascal Lauener/Reuters Siddesh Mayenkar in Mumbai


Jewellers could continue a voluntary ban on sales of gold coins and bars for six months, in support of the government's efforts to curb imports, a trade body said in a statement on Wednesday.

The All India Gems and Jewellery Trade Federation, which has more than 40,000 members, added that over 65 per cent of jewellers had agreed to the ban on sales of bars and coins, which account for about 35 per cent of total business.

Jewellers to stop selling gold bars, coins


Photographs: Reuters

"The jewellery community is one in supporting the country in times of crisis. We are happy to help with this voluntary action," Haresh Soni, chairman of the federation, said in the statement.

The trade body had appealed to jewellers to stop sales of coins and bars in late June.

Jewellers to stop selling gold bars, coins


Photographs: Reuters

India's current account deficit swelled to a record 4.8 per cent of gross domestic product in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2013, and gold is the second-largest item in the iport bill.

The government has hiked import duty to 8 per cent and the central bank has tightened availability of supplies in an effort to rein in imports, which hit a record 162 tonnes in May.

Tags: India
Source: REUTERS
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