No yellow metal, people go for silver this Dhanteras

Sukhmeet Bhasin

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, October 25

The sale of gold saw a decline as people preferred to buy silver coins on Dhanteras on Friday.

Though a large number of people turned up in the market, they failed to bring a smile on traders as shopkeepers could not make huge profits on the occasion.

It is learnt that the boom in the business fell just short of what traders had expected.

All shops, particularly of utensils, jewellery and electronic home appliances, were decked up with a range of decorative items as buying gold and silver ornaments and utensils made of brass, copper or bronze on Dhanteras is considered auspicious.

While many chose to shop in local markets, others opted for online shopping as many sites had announced a huge discount on most products.

Gursharan Singh, president, Dhobi Bazaar Traders’ Association, said “With the arrival of the festive season, shopkeepers were hoping to make huge profits, but the business has been at least 30 per cent less than their expectations. There is an overall slump in the market and the trade was affected by it.”

Sandeep Kumar, a trader dealing in utensils, said, “There was a rise in the sale as compared to routine days, but it was not a bumper sale, which we witnessed on previous Dhanteras. A good number of our customers has been attracted by the Internet shopping companies.”

The main reason behind showing less interest in gold this year is the hike in its price. This year, the price of gold is around Rs39,000 per 10 gram on this Dhanteras. Last year, it was Rs32,690 per 10 gram on the same day.

Dhanteras or Dhantrayodashi falls on the 13th day of the lunar phase or ‘Krishna Paksha’ in the Hindu month of Kartik. It is believed that buying gold and silver on this auspicious day brings prosperity.