Gold imports lose steam, fall 36.5% to $3.5 bn in Nov

Gold imports shrank 36.5 per cent to $3.53 billion in November on the back of falling prices of the yellow metal, something that will keep the country's current account deficit (CAD) in check. The prices have been declining at global as well as domestic markets.

The gold imports stood at $5.57 billion in November 2014, according to commerce ministry data. The figure for November this year is the highest in the current fiscal. The contraction in imports helped narrow the trade deficit to $9.78 billion in the previous month. It stood at $16.2 billion in November 2014.

This year, the imports of the yellow metal grew 62.2 per cent and 140 per cent in July and August, respectively. In September, the inward shipments declined 45.6 per cent.

India is the largest importer of gold in the world, the demand of which mostly comes from the jewellery industry. During April-November this fiscal, the imports dropped to $22.65 billion as against $24.49 billion in the same period last year. In 2014-15, gold was the third-largest commodity imported to India after crude oil and electronic items. That fiscal, the country's imports stood at $34.32 billion.

CAD was down at 1.6 per cent of GDP at $8.2 billion in the September quarter, mainly due to a lower trade deficit. Meanwhile, in a double-whammy for investors, the two major asset classes -- stocks and gold -- failed to generate positive returns in 2015 as headwinds from the global markets wiped off the positive sentiments back home.

While some mid-cap and small-cap stocks managed to hold ground, the overall market benchmark Sensex is headed for its worst performance in four years with a decline of 1,650 points or nearly 6 per cent so far in 2014. With just four days of trading left, the scenario is unlikely to change much.

The blue-chip index also hit its one-year low level of 24,833.54 in September and the plunge looked even sharper after taking into account a life-time high above 30,000-mark scaled earlier 

in March.