India’s gold imports plunged 99.9 per cent year-on-year in April to their lowest in nearly three decades as air travel was banned and jewellery shops were closed amid a nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus, a government source said.
A salesman arranges gold bangles inside a jewellery showroom on the occasion of Akshaya Tritiya, a major gold buying festival, in Mumbai, India, May 7, 2019. (Reuters)
India’s gold imports plunged 99.9 per cent year-on-year in April to their lowest in nearly three decades as air travel was banned and jewellery shops were closed amid a nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus, a government source said.
The world’s second biggest consumer of the precious metal imported around 50 kilograms of gold in April, down from 110.18 tonnes a year ago, the source said on Monday, who is not authorised to speak to the media.
In value terms, April imports dropped to $2.84 million from to $3.97 billion a year ago, he added.
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