If you hadn’t figured it out already, India loves gold. It also loves festivals, and indeed it has a total of approximately 30 bank holidays each year, which is rather a lot when you consider that in 2013 the UK will have just eight.
In addition to this, there is of course the Indian wedding season, which is where the collaborative love of gold and festivals comes together in an orgy of excessive precious metals.
In India it is not a wedding if there isn’t any gold, and it is not a good wedding unless there is lots of it.
November sees Indians celebrate the Hindu New year, with the country’s biggest annual festival, Diwali. Lasting for five days, the celebration is known as the ‘Festival of Lights’ and is kicked off by Dhanteras, where worship is given to Lakshmi, the Goddess of wealth.
It is customary on this day for Indian’s to buy gold and this is seen as good luck for the year ahead.
So how does this golden love affair affect the rest of us?
Quite simply, the quantity of gold consumed by the world’s third largest economy is so extensive that it actually has an impact on the global price of the precious metal. Although the gold price per gram remains relatively stable, in comparison to many other investments, giant leaps in consumption, during such times, can see the rate increase.
Although most of us may not yet have made any conscious investments in gold, and perhaps never will, the majority of us do own at least a small amount of the precious metal. Despite the fact that such gold may not have been purchased as an investment, the reality is that all gold can be exchanged for currency and thus all gold is indeed a form of investment.
The fundamentals of investments are to buy when the rate is low and sell when it is high, thus making a profit.
With the Indian festival season already having lifted the gold price per gram upwards, the current situation is looking very strong indeed. With the wedding season following on from the Diwali celebration this is also set to continue, but with our own festivities just around the corner, why not cash in now?
In reality, unless you possess an extensive and elaborate collection of gold, the price per gram rate will make very little impact on the returns you can get for your gold. Having said that, with the economy still struggling to take off, it can certainly be a worthwhile venture to raise some additional Christmas budget, and at the same time get rid of some unwanted household clutter.
The economic recession has led to all of us having to increasingly consider the nature and cost of our consumption and with Christmas and the New Year approaching there is no better time to put some new approaches into practice.
We all know how difficult it is to budget at Christmas, so rather than bargain hunt why not budget build?
This can allow us to enjoy Christmas just the way we want it this year, without the hefty burden of financial anxieties, as we look forward to a January where the bank balance won’t make us regret the wonderful time we had.
ABout the author: Scott is a freelance travel writer and blogger and has recently finished an extensive tour of India.
The Indian Festival Season Pushing Up The Price Of Gold
