How are wedding shoppers dealing with sky-high gold price?
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Bride-to-be Arpita Agarwal visited one of India's largest gold markets earlier last week to buy traditional jewellery for her wedding guests—chains for men and rings for women. As she navigated the crowded lanes of old Delhi's Chandni Chowk , the lofty prices made her reconsider.'We wanted to browse gifts for my wedding, but the options are way out of our budget,' the 24-year-old said, as she inspected jewellery in some stores. 'We will probably hand out cash, or maybe try to come here again closer to the wedding date.'The Hindu and Jain festival of Akshaya Tritiya is one of the most auspicious periods in India's calendar, a time for weddings, investments and gold buying. Snapping up bullion during this time is believed to bring prosperity, good fortune and success. But with prices up by more than a quarter so far this year, after a similar jump in 2024, many shoppers are holding back.Gold briefly surpassed Rs.1,00,000 ($1,172) per 10 gram for the first time a few days back in the world's second biggest market for the precious metal, tracking a surge in global prices that have been pushed higher by trade wars, geopolitical uncertainty and central bank buying.'Such price levels will continue to restrict jewellery volumes,' the World Gold Council said in its latest report. 'Indian buyers are likely to use any price dips as opportunities to buy.'India's largest jewellery companies have rolled out special Akshaya Tritiya collections. Some are offering discounts and even instalment plans, allowing buyers to pay as little as Rs.5,000 a month. However, business remains slow, store holders said.'High prices and evolving lifestyle choices are driving demand for lightweight gold jewellery,' said M.P. Ahammed, Chairman of Malabar Gold and Diamonds, which has about 400 retail outlets in more than a dozen countries. 'Customers are becoming discerning—putting greater emphasis on quality and purity standards, design excellence and offers.'India's jewellery demand slumped 25% from a year earlier to 71.4 tonne during the first three months of 2025, according to the World Gold Council. Crisil Ratings anticipates a decline in sales of as much as 11% during the fiscal year through March 2026. India accounted for almost 30% of global demand for jewellery, bars and coins last year, according to the data compiled by the World Gold Council.In Chandni Chowk, a centuries-old market that sells gold, perfume, shoes, clothes and accessories for weddings, the lanes were jam-packed, but even during the peak shopping hour, some jewellers sat idle.
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