Sale of sovereign gold bonds at a record high in July in times of Covid-19

In the July SGB issue, bonds equivalent to gold worth 4.13 tonnes were sold, according to the official data

Investors’ appetite for sovereign gold bonds (SGBs) has seen a stellar increase. In the July SGB issue, the government sold bonds worth Rs 2,004 crore, according to official data. This means bonds equivalent to gold worth 4.13 tonnes were sold.
 

Since the launch of SGBs (November 2015), this has been the best month in terms of quantity of gold sold, and amount raised in the issue.

Owing to the lockdown, most jewellers had shut shop in Q1FY21. As a result, those who wanted to put their money in gold resorted to investing in SGBs and gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

In