It could perhaps be the beginning of the end of India's love affair with gold. If recent trends are anything to go by, Indians would rather take a holiday trip to place of their choice than invest in the yellow metal.

The tendency could as well be attributed to the falling price of the metal, said experts. "People no longer see gold as a viable investment option as the price of gold has dropped considerably over the past two years and further fall is expected. Even gold exports from the country declined in April-May this year as compared to the same period last year," they said.

When contacted, a city-based jeweller said falling price of the metal over the past two years is responsible for people staying away from investing in gold. "A gram of 22 carat gold currently costs around Rs 2,650 against Rs 3,000 in 2013-14. Therefore, people are buying gold just for gifting, especially during the wedding season," he said, adding that people's priorities too have changed. "Most people from the city, including youngsters and those from the IT sector, now prefer to spend on travel instead of gold," he said.

Another city-based jeweller said a number of long weekends seen in the last fiscal could also be the reason behind the shift in trend. "Walk-ins at my store have dropped by 25% in the last couple of months while the drop in gold jewellery and coins has been up to 50% as compared to the same period last year," he said.

Jeweller Fatehchand Ranka, too, attributed the 50% fall in gold sales to change in buyers' preference. "Cash flow has come down, ultimately affecting the customers' buying capacity. Fewer weddings in 2015 have also affected sales," he said.

Experts also said the fall in gold demand could also be due to volatility in the markets and still recovering economy. Jeweller Shailesh Ranka said price of gold have remained on the lower side. "People are looking more at investing in the share market. Other reasons that may have contributed to a drop in demand for gold is the high tax and import duties on the metal," he said.

"People are waiting for gold rates to become steady. Once this happens, people will start buying the metal like before," said jeweller Nitin Ashtekar.

Source:timesofindia.indiatimes.com