Gold price dips 3% to Rs 29,190/10 gm in 2013-14

The average price of gold has eased by 3.2% on an annual basis to Rs 29,190 per 10 gm in 2013-14, Parliament was informed today.

In the current fiscal, gold price has come down to Rs 28,738/10 gm in May from Rs 29,329/10 gm in April, said Minister of State for Finance Nirmala Sitharaman in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

Silver prices too fell by 19% from Rs 57,602/kg in 2012-13 to Rs 46,637/kg in 2013-14.

"The yearly average price of gold in India decline by 3.2% from Rs 30,164/10 gm in 2012-13 to Rs 29,190/10 gm in 2013-14," she said.

Besides, silver prices in May stood at Rs 42,116/kg, down from Rs 43,606/kg in April.

"The movements in the domestic price of gold and silver are broadly in tandem with movements in international markets," Sitharaman said.

In order to curb gold imports the government had hiked customs duty on it to 10% and imposed certain restrictions on its imports.

In view of the measures taken by the government, the value of gold and silver imports fell by 40.1% from USD 55.8 billion in 2012-13 to USD 33.4 billion 2013-14.

In a separate reply, Sitharaman said the number of cases of gold smuggling went up from 462 in 2011-12 to 2,348 in 2013-14. So far this fiscal, 1,229 cases of smuggling has been detected.