Most active (Aug.) contract $1313.60 off $7.70.
From Bloomberg:
Joyalukkas Group, a gold and diamond retailer in India, is offering 12 free BMW cars and two kilograms (4.4 pounds) of bullion in a lucky draw as it fights a lean season in the world’s second-biggest buyer of the yellow metal.
Others including Gitanjali Gems Ltd. (GITG), Rajesh Exports Ltd. and Kalyan Jewellers Ltd. are promising everything from discounts to an opportunity to dine with Bollywood celebrities.
The monsoon season starting this month, usually considered a lean period for gold demand due to the lack of festivals and weddings, is threatening to deepen a sales slump caused by import curbs imposed last year. India raised duties on inbound shipments of the metal three times in 2013 to contain a record current-account deficit that pushed the nation’s currency to an all-time low.
“This is the first time we have come out with a single promotion for entire India and the Gulf countries to boost demand during the rainy season,” Joy Alukkas, managing director of Joyalukkas, said by phone from Kochi on June 18. “There are holidays in the Gulf countries during these months and non-resident Indians come back to their hometowns in south India. We are hoping to tap that market.”
Joyalukkas’s offers, valid until Aug. 2, are likely to boost sales this monsoon season by 10 percent to 15 percent, Alukkas said. The group has 47 stores in India, 32 in the Middle East and one each in the U.K., Singapore and Malaysia.
Rekindling Demand
Sales of Gitanjali Gems dropped 24 percent to 124.4 billion rupees ($2.1 billion) in the financial year ended March 31, the first annual decline in revenue since listing on the stock exchanges in 2006, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Rajesh Exports’ (RJEX) sales slid 24 percent to 235.4 billion rupees, the first annual slump since 2003, while Titan Co. Ltd. (TTAN)’s jewelry revenue grew 6.5 percent to 86.32 billion rupees, the slowest pace since at least 2008.
While freebies may stem the decline in sales, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts to revive economic growth may have a greater impact on rekindling jewelry demand, according to Abhijeet Kundu, an analyst at Antique Stock Broking Ltd....MORE
