Gold demand crashes 70% in India fortnight after duty hike to 15%
Volumes collapsed to 7.5 tonnes from 25 tonnes after import duty jumped to 15% from 6%, lifting effective tax to 18.45%. Joyalukkas reports 35% demand drop; Bhima sees shift to lighter pieces and old-gold exchanges. Bar/coin demand still rose 34% to 62.3 tonnes in Q1 as investors front-ran the hike.
Gold demand in India crashed 70% to 7.5 tonnes in the fortnight after the government hiked import duty to 15% from 6%, hitting unorganised jewellers hardest while chains like Joyalukkas and Bhima report shifts to lighter jewellery and old-gold sales.
Why this matters
Duty-driven shock follows Q1 front-loading by bar/coin investors, exposing how price-sensitive Indian jewellery buyers pivot to lighter pieces and exchange of old gold when tax incidence jumps.
Footfall theme steady with 75 signals in 90d; this 70% volume crash marks a sharp outlier.