Gold demand has surged in India

COVID-19 HIT India hard, leaving millions jobless and struggling to get by. Yet Sachin Rana, who runs a jewellery stall in New Delhi’s Malviya Nagar market, says sales have been booming since lockdowns ended. After months in isolation, consumers were keen for a blowout during Diwali, a festival in November. A bumper wedding season has followed, creating plenty of occasions to wear jewellery or give it as a gift.The pandemic has proven that “Indians will never stop buying gold”, says Mr Rana. Pent-up demand for pendants and parties pushed bullion sales to the highest on record in the last quarter of 2021, reckons the World Gold Council, an industry body that has tracked consumption since 2005. Indians picked up around 340 tonnes of gold over the period, equivalent to the weight of five healthy Indian elephants every week.