Festive gold buying has set a new value record even as prices stayed near historic highs. The All-India Gem and Jewellery Domestic Council (GJC) has estimated that gold sales rose 15 to 20 per cent to Rs 62,000 crore — about $6.6 billion — during Lakshmi Pooja and Dhanteras, the two most auspicious occasions for buying gold in most parts of India, The Hindu BusinessLine reported.

Source: The Hindu BusinessLine

The estimate covers gold alone, as counted by the jewellers' own council; it is separate from the traders' body CAIT's all-sector festive trade figures, which count everything from automobiles to electronics and which Awaaz Punjab has reported earlier. IANS, reporting the same GJC estimate on Sunday, said the council expected sales during Dhanteras and Lakshmi Puja to cross Rs 62,000 crore, reflecting strong consumer demand despite elevated prices.

Source: IANS

Prices explain the paradox of record value on steady volumes: gold was still 9 to 23 per cent costlier than on the same occasions last year, BusinessLine reported. Prices had hit a record Rs 1.81 lakh to Rs 1.85 lakh per 10 grams in January and eased over the last two months to about Rs 1.41 lakh; over the last three years, prices during Lakshmi Pooja and Dhanteras had ranged between Rs 80,000 and Rs 1.15 lakh per 10 grams. GJC chairman Rajesh Rokde told IANS that gold had returned about 9 to 14 per cent between last year's Lakshmi Puja, in October 2025, and this year's.

Source: The Hindu BusinessLine

Rokde said that during this year's Lakshmi Puja, even Gen Z and younger buyers were keen on gold, feeling current price levels were relatively cheaper after the recent surge, BusinessLine reported. Sachin Jain, regional CEO for India at the World Gold Council, said walk-ins across retail markets were strong and consumers were buying across jewellery, coins, bars, ETFs and digital gold.

Source: The Hindu BusinessLine

Jewellers described a shift in what buyers took home. Kalyan Jewellers executive director Ramesh Kalyanaraman said there was a growing preference for lighter-weight jewellery — pendants, bangles and chains — and smaller denominations of gold and silver coins, with tier-II and tier-III markets such as Jaipur, Dehradun, Surat, Belgaum, Agra and Raipur contributing more this season. PNG Jewellers CMD Dr Saurabh Gadgil said advance bookings in the run-up to Dhanteras and Diwali were very strong and old-gold exchange was playing a big role, including in smaller cities, BusinessLine reported.

Source: The Hindu BusinessLine

With Diwali and the wedding season following, jewellers said the festive response offered an encouraging outlook for the year-end. All figures in this story are industry estimates by the GJC, not official statistics.

Source: The Hindu BusinessLine