Gold. Is there still steam?

In January 2013 Govt of India imposed 2% more import duty making it 6% from 4% on gold imports.

How precious is Gold viewed in the short term:

The US housing recovery is likely to accelerate throughout the year, China's data are topping the forecasts as the nation's economy shows signs of bottoming out, markets don't see any immediate concerns out of Europe and so the  investors' confidence is high.

There is no new financial crisis building up  in the major markets; most of the bad news is already reflected  in the price. Secondly, the recent erratic performance coupled with sluggish demand for safe haven has lessened investor’s interest in Gold. Not only that, after the prolonged bull run buyers have now become more price-sensitive and India is trying to reduce its imports of gold, which may have a long-term impact on international gold prices.

That does not mean everything is closed out for gold.  As a source of diversification it still makes sense to maintain some gold in your portfolio.


In 2013, WGC expects the demand to be in the 865-965 tonne range, an 11 per cent increase at the upper-end.

The long term trends available from WGC shows a positive picture for Gold. Key statistics from its first of the  report in the series include the following: In 2009, total Indian gold demand reached US$19 billion, or Rs974 billion, which accounts for 15% of the global gold market.
Over the past ten years, the value of gold demand in India has increased at an average rate of 13% per year, outpacing the country’s real GDP, inflation and population growth by 6%, 8% and 12% respectively.
The country currently has one of the highest saving rates in the world, estimated at around 30% of total income, of which 10% is already invested in gold.

The views in the short term and long term give divergent postures. Life is like that.one is the best judge when it comes to financial planning. consider all views; but take one's own investment decision.

happy investing

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