subject: Hike in gold price dwindle jewellery business in Kashmir [print this page] Hike in gold price dwindle jewellery business in Kashmir
Hike in gold price dwindle jewellery business in Kashmir
Waheed Yaseen
Agence India Press
December 6, 2010
Srinagar: With international market experiencing surge in gold prices for quite a while now, it is had an impact on jewellery business in Kashmir as well.
The business in the valley has dwindled significantly as trend of fluctuating prices has failed to attract customers.
The yellow metal touched all time high last week as prices continue to fluctuate between Rs 20,000-b 21,000 per 10 gram.
"Hike in price hike has definitely affected on the business. Customers are conscious about the rates. They wait for prices to come down so that they can buy the jewellery, but prices have shown surge almost throughout a year now," a gold businessman in Srinagar said.
Five months of turmoil in the valley hasn't helped either.
He said that the gold business in the valley was dented big time as major part of the wedding season-marked with a highest sale of gold-was lost to the five months of unrest.
"Shops were closed due to curfew and shutdown for major part of last five months, it has had a big impact on our business as sales were virtually zero during the period." He added.
Kashmir has witnessed one of its high voltage summers marked with 112 civilian killings allegedly in the police and paramilitary action, curfews, shutdowns and valley wide protests against the Indian occupation'.
Sikander Rasool Zargar, who runs a jewellery shop in South Kashmir's Tral town, told Agence India Press that combination of price hike and unrest has resulted in gold business going down significantly.
"It is combination of both the unrest and price hike in the international market. Unrest and price hike coincided with the wedding season that normally is the most significant time in terms of gold business. Unfortunately we have been hit hard by the developments," Zargar said.
Due to skyrocketing prices, Zargar said, the customers have turned out to be sellers.
"Some of our customers now sell their gold as high prices have encouraged them to do so. This trend is picking up as prices continue to show surge in the market," he said.
With situation in Kashmir limping back to normalcy, people concerned with gold business would be hoping for some stability in the international market so that they are back to their profit making ways. (AIP)
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