Every year, after a short lull during monsoon, gold sales in the country pick up again with festivals. It is that kick-starts this string of festivals across . Shenoy Karun writes how gold consumption pattern differs from season to season across the country and presents the bigger picture of the world’s total production and its major producers

1 NORTH ZONE TOP 3 GOLD

458.1 TOP Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, THE POWER OF PRODUCERS Delhi, Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh, (2015, in tonnes) Uttarakhand & Kashmir 20 HIGH HIGH GOLD MINING JAN - MARCH APRIL - MAY Barrick Newmont AngloGold Marriages Harvest Gold Mining Ashanti COUNTRIES

LOW HIGH G LD 190.3 156.6 122.8 252.4 JUNE-AUG SEPT-DEC SOURCE: COMPANY REPORTS; Production in 2015 ( in t onnes ) Monsoon Dasa ra , Christmas GFMS, THOMSON REUTERS 275.9

HOW FESTIVALS 175.9 REST OF WORLD 2 WEST ZONE DRIVE GOLD WORLD TOTAL

HIGH SALES CONSUMPTION 150.7 Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, 216.0 54.72 3,157.71 Maharashtra & Goa LOW SALES IN INDIA SOURCE: GFMS, THOMSON REUTERS MEDIUM HIGH 124.6

JAN - MARCH APRIL - MAY 158.7 1 83.2 No Marriages Marriages, , 134.3

Akshaya Tritiya 57.2 47.6 45.7 46.8 95.1 LOW HIGH 3 80.8 64.1 49.1 46.8

JUNE-AUG SEPT-DEC 47.5 Monsoon, Marriages, Shradh Dhanteras, Das a ra, , Christmas 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 3 EAST ZONE CHINA BRAZIL MALI Odisha, Bihar, West Bengal & other eastern states COLOMBIA AUSTRALIA LOW HIGH 2 CANADA KAZAKHSTAN UNITED GHANA JAN - MARCH APRIL - MAY STATES No Marriages Marriages SOURCE: RUSSIA MEXICO PAPUA PHILIPPINES LONDON PERU NEW INDONESIA GUINEA BULLION MARKET SOUTH AFRICA TANZANIA LOW HIGH ASSOCIATION Graphic: UZBEKISTAN ARGENTINA CONGO JUNE-AUG SEPT-DEC | One of Karthic R Monsoon Marriages, Durga the four most auspicious days 4 of Laxmi, goddess Puja, Diwali, in the Hindi calendar, believed of wealth, are sought CONSUMER DEMAND (2015, in tonnes) Christmas to bring good luck and success DIWALI | The third and primary Germany China 4 SOUTH ZONE DAS ARA | Celebrates the defeat day of the fi ve-day ‘Festival of of demon king Ravana by Lord Lights’ 123.8 1,037.3 Kerala, Karnataka, Telangana, Rama, symbolizing the triumph | The most Tamil Nadu & Andhra Pradesh of good over evil - considered important festival in Bengal, to be an auspicious day to Kerala market MEDIUM HIGH usually celebrated on the 6th JAN - MARCH APRIL - MAY begin new enterprises State’s annual Number of gold Iran consumption of gold stores in the state to 10th days of the waxing No Marriages Marriages, GUDI PADWA | New moon in the sixth month of 70.9 (EXCEPT FOR Akshaya Tritiya Year for Maharashtrians; marks 60,000 kg 6,000 Bengali calendar. JAN IN KERALA) the beginning of spring MAJOR SUPPLIERS | State Trading ONAM | Annual harvest US LOW HIGH SHRADH | A week set aside for Corporation, Metals and Minerals Trading festival in Kerala ancestral worship Corporation of India, Axis Bank, HDFC JUNE-AUG SEPT-DEC | From the Tamil for 192.8 Bank, State Bank of India and Scotiabank Saudi Monsoon Onam, Diwali, DHANTERAS | The fi rst day ‘boiling over’, a festival in SOURCE: Arabia India Thailand Vietnam Christmas, Pongal, of Diwali festival; the blessings INDUSTRY SOURCES celebration of the harvest SOURCE: Marriages WORLD GOLD COUNCIL 84.5 849.9 90.2 63.4 WHO ‘DECIDES’ THE PRICE OF GOLD? 1 3 The actual price you or spot gold, London is the global centre. Nearly 87% of the global trading pay in the shop includes Fvolume of spot gold, futures and options had been happening there. London The banks or trading fi rms in India like State Bank of India, the cost of making Bullion Market Association (LBMA) Gold Price, which is generally known as the HOW GOLD Twice a day, ‘LBMA Nova Scotia, and MMTC buy the jewellery, which is ‘London price’, is fi xed twice a day – at 10.30 am and 3 pm. Apart from London, IS PRICED gold p rice’ is fi xed by Everyday, Trade bodies in slightly higher than the there are two other major centres of gold trade – New York and Shanghai. Prices 13 participants of the gold at the LBMA g old p rice India use LBMA g old p rice and – different rate, add import duty and VAT prices published in the of gold futures traded on New York Mercantile Exchange, US, and the prices at stages auction administered by also the trading price at New newspapers the Shanghai Gold Benchmark auction, China, also serve as reference prices. Intercontinental and sell it to local jewellers York Mercantile Exchange to Exchange Benchmark reach a reference price for Administration (IBA) 2 their member shops 4