Wednesday, May 7, 2008

DAY OF THE YELLOW METAL


Associated with this day is the sale of yellow metal, gold. High voltage and electrifying marketing gimmicks have made the sale of gold rocket to sky heights. Traffic in arterial roads in T.Nagar, the commercial hub of Chennai will be diverted. Long serpentine queues in front of the jewelry shops, no matter their size would do brisk business. Doing an Archimedes wont help fetch a piece of gold for guessing. This is Akshaya Trithiya or the third day after the new moon on the Hindu month of Vaishaka is said to be the day when the sun and the moon are in the peaks of their luminescence. “Akshaya” in Sanskrit means “never diminishing” and it is assumed that any new bought or started on this day keeps growing in value.

According to reports, the world gold council (WGC) expects a rise in gold sales between 20-25 percent on this year’s Akshaya trithiya which falls on May 8th. On this day, last year a whopping 55 tonnes of gold were sold, which is nearly 5 percent of India’s total gold consumption of 750 million tonnes in a year. To cash on this opportunity banks and retail players in gold jewelry segment have come out with lucrative offers.

However the hidden increase in price of gold fails to be noticed in the mad rush to acquire a little piece of gold. Price rise of 200 rupees have already been reported due to change in marketmen’s tactics to invest in the bullion instead of melting markets.So look out before you buy out !!