Year 2020 So Far Gold: How Has Different Market Forces And Other Factors Impacted Gold In India And

Global stimulus measures, low-interest rate regime, economic uncertainty amid Covid 19 all fuelled gold’s run up to record high and in early August Gold surpassed all previous highs to scale to $2067 troy ounce.

In the Indian markets, in the futures markets, gold touched a peak of Rs. 56200 per 10 gm and currently is hovering at around Rs. 49000 levels on recovery hopes from the pandemic given optimism around Covid 19 vaccine which though will hit the ground in some time though.

Fy 2020-21 for gold based on return

Fy 2020-21 for gold based on return In the fiscal year, gold has seen a steep run of up to 29.6 percent and the upside is expected to continue through the next year. Though, analysts see the year 2021 to be a mixed year for gold with upside in the first half and correction in the second half.

India experienced faster increase in gold prices than in global shores

India experienced faster increase in gold prices than in global shores This was primarily on the back of irregularity in rupee movement. Any rupee appreciation weighs on gold prices and it sees downward pullback and viceversa. In India gold prices have risen by 45 percent in 2020-21.

Demand seeing a huge slump and consequently imports being hit

Demand seeing a huge slump and consequently imports being hit In the June quarter, there was perhaps no demand and imports almost sank by over 90% during this time.

Sales revenue from jewellery and gem

This also sees a steep plunge of between 60-97 percent as reported by different players in the segment in the June ended quarter of Fy21. And it is also being stated that jewellery business in its usual form has disrupted and most players are now resorting to digital channels of doing business to revive demand with enticing offers.

In a UTSA-only tradition, class rings spend a night at the Alamo

Nearly 400 Roadrunners will receive their class rings this month, joining a growing group of alumni taking part in a time-honored UTSA tradition: UTSA’s class rings are the only graduation keepsake to spend a night in the Alamo.

“It’s a unique way to tie our students’ accomplishments at UTSA to the history of San Antonio,” said Steve Woodall, interim executive director of the UTSA Alumni Association.

The ring ceremony, which began in 2001, is a tradition of its own. Hundreds of UTSA students and alumni purchase a class ring each semester, marking a milestone in their academic careers and celebration with their families and friends.

“It’s a unique way to tie our students’ accomplishments at UTSA to the history of San Antonio.”

The university began placing the rings in the Alamo in 2012. Each semester Alumni Association staff packs the rings in a secure box and takes them to the historic landmark, where they spend a night before the official ring ceremony. To date, 4,048 UTSA class rings have been included in this special occasion.

“At UTSA every journey has a beginning and an end,” said Jerry Martinez, event services specialist in the Office of Alumni Programs. “The ring represents the full circle of accomplishments that students have experienced at UTSA.”

Joyce Fox graduated in 1996 with her bachelor’s in anthropology and humanities. This semester she invested in her class ring, and she looks forward to finally taking part in the ring ceremony. She’s hoping her daughter, who enrolls at UTSA in the fall, will take part in the same tradition.

“I want to declare my loyalty to UTSA,” Fox said. “The ring ceremony is another university tradition that I can cross off my UTSA bucket list.”

Her boyfriend, Chuck Clark ’94, is also getting his ring. “Having a UTSA class ring unites us all,” he said. “If I’m in a group setting and I see other people with class rings who are fellow Roadrunners, I’ll strike up a conversation about their UTSA experience. It unites us and gives us common ground.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, UTSA will conduct a virtual ring ceremony. Students and alumni will learn about their class ring’s history and significance and receive a certificate stating that the ring stayed in the Alamo.

During virtual Commencement celebrations, students who have purchased rings similarly begin the event with their rings facing inward. At the end they will be called upon to turn their rings around as an outward sign of their membership in the UTSA community.

Platinum resurgent as Chinese consumers choose it over expensive gold jewellery

THE surge in the price of platinum – which posted its biggest monthly gain in November since 2008 – has been put down to renewed appetite among consumers who prefer the metal to its more expensive rival, gold.

“We have observed that Covid has resulted in a re-evaluation of love gifting,” Trevor Raymond, director of research at the World Platinum Investment Council (WPIC) told Bloomberg News. “Platinum has been very strongly associated with love gifting, globally and in China,” he said.

The WPIC said in its third quarter report in November that the platinum market would record another deficit in 2020, partly owing to a recovery in jewellery sales in China. In addition, 2021 would also represent the continued growth of the China market.

Platinum jewellery sales had fallen for seven consecutive years in China. Looking to 2021, global jewellery demand is forecast to gain 13% – some 246,000 ounces – with all regions seeing double-digit growth, said the WPIC.

“Platinum is more competitive,” Michael Xue, chairman of Shenzhen Bofook Jewellery, told Bloomberg News. “Gold prices have increased way too much since the pandemic.” Bofook said its platinum jewellery sales jumped 20% in the third quarter from a year earlier.

Platinum has almost doubled from a mid-March low, with a 25% surge since the beginning of November. But at $1,060 an ounce, it’s still much less pricey than gold, which was trading above $1,800/oz, said the newswire.

“If a person has more disposable income and is re-evaluating life, they’re more likely to spend it on love gifting with platinum,” the WPIC’s Raymond said. Platinum being so much cheaper than gold or palladium “doesn’t make sense,” he said.