With gold reaching climbing higher, just not this week, and reaching for all time highs in Indian rupee currency, it seems the Diwali Festival Season will see an explosion of silver gifts as imports of the shiny white metal jump by 72% year over year.
As we just reported in $1,800 Gold…$2,200 Gold… What Next, $2,500 or $3,000 Gold? regarding gold reaching all time highs in rupee’s right at the wrong time of year – Festival Season, we note silver would be the mechanism to protect wealth for a short period. We also noted that as these new higher gold acquisition cost became more of the norm, the Indian people would get back to acquiring gold as they always have. But in the meantime they would turn to silver as a way of keeping their wealth outside the clutches of the banking cabal and government thieves.
While gold has backed off from such an incredible highs in India it is still, approximately, Rs 34,196 per 10 grams. This figure represents an upswing of 18-20% for the year. If you combine these heights with the fact that India has some very steep taxes, tariffs and import duties on gold it is no wonder the people of India resort to gold smuggling and turn to silver during times like this.
Now a report this morning supports this idea in a huge manner. Apparently, India is importing silver hand over fist while at the same time shelving their appetite for gold – at least for the moment.
Imports of the poor man’s gold jumped 72% from a year earlier to 543.21 tons in August
Imports of the poor man’s gold jumped 72 per cent from a year earlier to 543.21 tons in August, according to the latest available data from India’s trade ministry. In contrast, inbound purchases of gold plunged by an equivalent amount to 32.1 tons, the lowest in three years, as record high prices sapped demand in the world’s second-biggest consumer of the metal.
Gold has gained about 18 per cent this year as the US-China trade war hurts global growth and central banks loosen policy. In India, benchmark gold futures in Mumbai rose to record highs last month, while silver futures, though up 18 per cent in 2019, are still almost 40 per cent away from an all-time high in 2011. Source
With the wedding rapidly approaching we don’t see this trend continuing for much longer. Yes, silver imports will probably remain elevated, however, gold is the true gift during the wedding season. With generations long traditions of gold as the gift for a wedding, gold will be back in favor regardless of how it reaches. We may not see the “official” numbers, but we will probably see a major uptick in gold smuggling into India if gold remains (and it will) at these new higher levels.
