Mumbai, October 4: Amid the economic slowdown in the country, the market closed down in red during the ongoing festive season. The impact of the slowdown was also witnessed in the gold and silver prices on the festive weekend. The gold price in the MCX exchange ended with a rise of Rs 210 per 10 grams in value while for silver, the rates declined by Rs 121 per kilogram. Following this, the rate of gold stood at Rs 38,000 per 10 grams while for silver, the rates plunged to Rs 45,530 per kilogram.

According to the stock market, the change in the price the gold for 22 carats on Friday was long due in the festive season as the traders have been struggling to mince profits. While the sad reports coming from the declining prices in silver in the MCX market is undoubtedly a challenge that the Union government will have to look into. The rise of 0.55% in the prices of gold and decline of 0.27% in silver may not look a big change; however, this creates a massive impact in the jewellery sector during the festive season. Economic Crisis Grips Handmade Jewellery Sector, Over 50,000 Bengali Karigars Forced to Return Home Due to Lack of Work.

Considering the case of the Thursday close of gold (22 carats/10 grams), the price was Rs 37990, which opened at Rs 37,925 on Friday, but closed at Rs 38,200. On the other side, the silver closed at Rs 45,651 (per kilograms) on Thursday and opened at Rs 45,730 on Friday, however, closed at Rs 45,530.

As per the estimate, the import of gold in September plunged to lowest in at least three years and slumped 86 percent from a year earlier to 13.5 tons in September 2018. This year the prices of gold are up by 20 percent, which has created a negative impact on the country's retail market. Though the market experts expect that trading of gold and silver, and its products' demand would rise in the retail market during the festive season, lack of interest among the buyers is what is feared by shopkeepers. Also, options for investors in gold bonds are available for people ahead of Dhanteras and Diwali.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 04, 2019 05:27 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).