Indian Consumers Buy 52 Tonnes of Gold Worth ₹72,000 Crore as Prices Slide

Indian households bought 52 tonnes of gold worth ₹72,000 crore across the Dhanteras and Diwali festival corridor, snapping a months-long retail freeze as bullion prices plunged from record highs.

Buyers stormed jewellery counters. Silver purchases jumped alongside gold, drawing an additional ₹5,400 crore in spending for 300 tonnes of the white metal, according to estimates released by the India Bullion and Jewellers Association (IBJA). The gold shopping frenzy drove retail volumes up 30% compared with the same festive window last year, while silver demand advanced 10%.

A sudden price retreat broke the standoff between cautious shoppers and soaring retail tags. Gold had climbed to a dizzying peak of roughly ₹1.8 lakh per 10 grams before tumbling back to ₹1.42 lakh, offering families an opening ahead of the winter wedding calendar that begins in mid-November and runs through March.

The Price Correction and Festive Cash Surge

Sales had tanked earlier in the fiscal year. Through September, domestic gold volumes plunged nearly 50% under the combined pressure of elevated prices, higher import duties, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's public appeal urging citizens to curtail precious metal purchases.

That restraint vanished once retail rates softened.

"Consumers had stayed away from the precious metal," said IBJA National Secretary Surendra Mehta. "But since the price has fallen and there is a chance of prices moving northwards again as Brent crude prices have fallen, people have come out to buy gold. In fact, buying is still continuing."

Calendar timing accelerated the cash turnaround. Dhanteras fell on November 6 and Diwali arrived on November 8—landing squarely against the opening week of the month when corporate paychecks and festive bonuses hit household bank accounts.

Multi-Year Bullion Surge and Retail Demand

Even with the recent correction, gold has yielded massive capital gains over a four-year run. The metal traded around ₹60,000 per 10 grams in 2023, climbed to ₹80,000 in 2024, and pressed into the ₹1.15 lakh to ₹1.20 lakh range across 2025 before touching this year's ₹1.8 lakh peak.

An eight-year sales audit by Bengaluru-based retailer C Krishniah Chetty Jewellers showed festival gold volume reached the third-highest mark recorded in an entire decade, despite prevailing prices lingering roughly 10% above the level seen 12 months earlier.

"The overall sentiment has remained unshaken, with consumers continuing to repose confidence in gold jewellery despite the unprecedented rise in prices over a 12-month period," said C Vinod Hayagriv, director of C Krishniah Chetty Jewellers.

Diamond Sales Defy Supply Headwinds

Natural diamond demand kept pace with the yellow metal, recording its second-highest sales volume in eight years at C Krishniah Chetty Jewellers. The retailer logged a 250% surge in natural diamond transactions on Dhanteras day alone, capped by a 47% rise throughout the broader Diwali season.

The volume spike unfolded despite severe operational disruptions across global supply networks, where sanctions on Russian rough gems have crimped supply alongside competition from manufactured alternatives. Lab-grown stones, however, have largely established a separate commercial tier rather than replacing mined diamonds in high-ticket bridal showcases.

Market Context: Bullion demand in India serves as a critical proxy for rural liquidity and household net worth, with wedding-related purchases anchoring retail volumes regardless of macroeconomic turbulence.

Jewellers now shift focus to the five-month wedding corridor opening in mid-November, where advance bookings and bridal orders are expected to test whether the ₹1.42 lakh price level holds through early 2026.