India gold bar imports collapsed in May

By Paul Ploumis 18 Jun 2015 Last updated at 08:18:29 GMT

MUMBAI (Scrap Monster): The Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) has today released the details of imports of raw materials for gems and jewellery for the month of May this year. According to data, the gold bar imports by the country during the month witnessed a massive drop of nearly 62% over the previous year.

The monthly import statistics released by GJEPC suggests that the total gold bar imports by the country during May ‘15 amounted to Rs 1,551.11 crores (USD 243.12 Million).In rupee terms, the gold bar imports have dropped sharply by almost 61.93% over the year. The drop in dollar terms stood at 64.61%. It must be noted that the country’s gold bar imports during May 2014 were valued at Rs 4,073.93 crores (USD 686.89 Million).

According to GJEPC, the imports of gold jewellery by the country during May this year dropped nearly 16.64% when compared with the previous year. The country’s gold jewellery imports during May ‘15 totaled Rs 201.74 crores (USD 31.62 Million). During the similar period last year, the country had imported gold jewellery worth Rs 242.01 crores (USD 40.80 Million).

It must be noted that the above figures are based on prevailing exchange rates. The exchange rate of 1 USD in May 2015 is considered as Rs. 63.80 against USD and that during May 2014 is taken as 59.31.

The May ’15 gold bar imports have declined slightly by nearly 3.1% when matched with the previous month. The country’s gold bar imports had totaled Rs 1,604.31 crores (USD 255.67 Million) in April this year.