FOMO drives gold rush in India as prices cross Rs 1 lakh: Sachin Jain of World Gold Council

By Animesh Deb

New Delhi/Mumbai [India], November 1 (ANI): When gold prices in India breached the Rs 1 lakh per 10 grams mark earlier this year, it triggered a rush of buying, in what is widely referred to in the digital age as FOMO (fear of missing out).

According to Sachin Jain, Regional CEO (India) at the World Gold Council (WGC), the phenomenon reflects investors' fear of missing out as prices climb to historic highs every now and then.

"...you would have seen in your circles as well and lot of people would just say, I think I missed the rally...I should have entered when it was this much (price). I should have entered when it was one lakh. So there is always this catch up," Jain told ANI in a virtual interaction, explaining why WGC feels FOMO factor is among the reasons behind the latest gold price rally.

Gold in India hit the Rs 1 lakh per 10 gram milestone on April 23.

"...up to Rs 1 lakh, there was a good demand. From Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.1 lakh, the demand went down. But when it crossed Rs 1.1 lakh, the consumers flocked. Because then it was believed that 'either buy gold now or the price will rise further'," Sachin Jain has asserted in the virtual interaction this week.

Sachin Jain continued that this sentiment is typical of India's deep-rooted attachment to gold, which is both emotional and financial.

"A lot of our buying happens for weddings and other things. There, particularly, in October, that lot of consumers have pre-poned the buy," he said.

Physical gold, as we understand, is currently trading around Rs 1.20 lakh per 10 grams, India Bullion and Jewellers Association data showed.

For those wondering if they should buy at such record prices, Jain's advice was clear and consistent: take the long view as "a long-term friend" on the yellow metal.

"...we've always said that gold is a long term thing. It's a long term asset class we invested on. If you're at playing in gold to buy today, sell tomorrow, then certainly you should look at other asset classes. Gold is a long-term friend and it's going to bring a lot of help to your portfolio. But look at gold from a long-term perspective," he stressed.

When asked what would be his advice to those who thinks gold prices will deflate to an extent going ahead, when buying buying opportunities will arise, he recalled the FOMO factor, without getting into much of specifics, partly because WGC is not in the business of price forecast.

"I think broadly from the perspective of the WGC, we don't recommend indicating the price. What I can say is that the levers or the pillars on which the gold price is based on are pretty much strongly in favor of gold. So I think from that perspective, we have a long-term view. But it will certainly be serving as a good friend to be given a long term view," he noted.

World Gold Council believes that the market is not yet saturated, and the strategic case to hold gold remains firmly in place.

On whether high prices might push consumers toward other metals, Jain acknowledged possible minor shifts other metals, but reiterated that faith in gold remains strong.

He, in a way, acknowledged some "unaffordability" but ruled out a major shift to other asset classes in the precious metals.

"Let's go back to 2001. I won't go back 4-5 years. Let's go back almost 23-25 years back. In 2001, the price of gold per 10 grams was 4,500 rupees. Even then, gold was expensive. We never said gold is cheap. And from 4,500 rupees per 10 grams, to take it to 120,000 rupees per 10 grams. So, as India, we have done a catch up."

"...there will be some unaffordability, for sure. Certain people who want to buy it will perhaps move to other elements of, let's say, silver or platinum or whatever it is. But I think largely the faith and the confidence that we have, not just Indians, strategic reasons of gold are very strong," Jain said.

He also cited a Morgan Stanley report supporting gold as a key asset and should be kept in one's overall investment portfolio basket.

Discussing the latest quarter (July-September 2025), Jain said a moderation in gold consumption was reported in India. He affirmed that much of the decline was due to base effect. The duty reduction in gold in 2024 had led to a sudden spurt in gold demand in the year ago quarter.

From the jewellery demand perspective, India saw a drop in the July-September quarter, but consumption value "has stayed almost similar".

In 2025, gold has seen over 40 peaks in terms of all-time record prices. Over the past 18 to 19 months, over 84 such peaks have been witnessed.

So when this whole rally began, it was purely to start with geopolitics, a lot of de-dollarization and central banks of countries buying and accumulating gold. That was followed by investment demand by the investment community.

A remark of Sachin Jain that stood out when he said Indian housewives should be awarded the smartest investor on earth because over the years they have accumulated gold that subsequently created wealth. "Today, that's resulting in the wealth of the nation." (ANI)

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