The new financial year has started on a week note for precious metals as import of both gold and silver fell sharply in Ahmedabad for the month of April.
According to GSECL, which handles cargo movement at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, import of gold for April was 1.87 tonne, 75% lower than the same month of last year when the import was 7.39 tonne.
Gold import for April 2018 was the lowest for the month in the last eight years except in 2016 when it stood at exactly one tonne. It was also the lowest in the past seven months.
Similarly, silver import at the city airport also saw a steep fall. From 3.95 tonne in April 2017, import of the shiny metal declined by 87% to 0.51 tonne, GSECL said. Import of the shiny metal for April 2018 was also the lowest for the month in the last six years except in 2016 when the figure was 0.19 tonne.
The big fall in import of the two precious metals in the first month of the current financial year comes after a strong 2017-18.
According to GSECL, gold import at the airport for 2017-18 was 74.30 tonne, up by over 45% from 50.88 tonne in the previous year.
Likewise, silver import rose from 36.19 tonne in 2016-17 to 234 tonne in 2017-18, an increase of nearly 550%. Jewellery industry players had attributed the whopping increase in silver import to higher consumption in different industries.
Source: dnaindia.com