Gold exchange traded funds listed in India have seen buying jump during Akshaya Tritiya as more individuals purchase ETFs rather than jewelry.
Gold prices have been trading between $1,600 and $1,700 an ounce over the past two months, and supported recently by the Indian holiday Akshaya Tritiya. Meanwhile, the mixed bag of U.S. economic news has further supported the precious metal and focused ETFs.
“The young generation now prefers to invest online rather than go to jewelers, which is increasing the demand for paper gold,” Harish Galipelli, head of research at commodity brokerage firm JRG Wealth Management, said in a WSJ.com report. Urban consumers not only prefer to purchase from the comfort of their homes but also see better value in ETFs as they are sure of the purity of the precious metal and it avoids costs charged for making jewelry. [Physical Demand Helps Bolster Gold ETFs]
The Indian holiday Akshaya Tritiya has had some impact upon gold demand and prices. This holiday is a day that is thought to bring good luck and success, and those that provide charity on this day, April 24, are said to be blessed. Many people buy jewelry on this day.
Indian investments in ETFs were up 44% before this holy day, despite fewer on-foot buyers. The trade value of gold ETFs, or paper gold, on India’s National Stock Exchange rose to 6.08 billion rupees ($115.8 million) from 4.23 billion rupees a year earlier, while the total number of units traded on the bourse grew 10% to 2.2 million, report Debiprasad Nayak and Biman Mukherji for The WSJ. [Gold ETF Investors Unfazed by Pullback]
“Gold has become an asset class which is a must-have in many people’s portfolio,” Gnananskhar Thiagarajan, director at Commtrendz Research, said.
News that the Federal Reserve seems to be more open to taking additional steps to bolster economic growth has also supported gold prices. Gold prices have been buoyed for months in part by the Fed’s bond-buying programs, reports The Associated Press. [Gold ETFs Recover on Fed Dovish Comments]
Tisha Guerrero contributed to this article.