India's Dhanteras gold sales rise 15-20% in value, but volumes stay flat as prices stay high

Indian jewellers reported brisk Dhanteras demand on Friday, November 6, as gold's slide from its January record pulled shoppers back into showrooms. Trade estimates put the day's gold business at roughly Rs 60,000 crore, up 15-20% in value, according to a PTI report carried by Daily Excelsior. Early figures are preliminary and trade bodies often revise them.

Value is up, volume is not

The headline growth number hides a split. Rajesh Rokde, chairman of the All India Gem and Jewellery Domestic Council (GJC), told PTI that volumes are likely to be roughly flat from a year earlier because prices remain well above last year's. Gold in Delhi was Rs 1,46,300 per 10 grams (24-carat, taxes included) on Friday, down 20% from the record Rs 1,83,000 on January 29, but above the Rs 1,32,400 recorded on last year's Dhanteras on October 18.

That arithmetic explains it: a price about 10.5% higher than last year (1,46,300 against 1,32,400) means flat tonnage alone lifts rupee sales by roughly that much before any extra buying. Separately, The New Indian Express reported that industry players expect a 15-20% rise in volume, citing the India Bullion and Jewellers Association for a 99.9% gold price of about Rs 1.41 lakh per 10 grams this year against Rs 1.30 lakh last year. Those two outlets disagree on volume, and so do individual retailers, so treat any single figure with care.

Retailers report very different numbers

• Senco Gold CEO Suvankar Sen: sales value up more than 25% year on year.
• PNG Jewellers CMD Saurabh Gadgil: industry indications of 25-30% value growth.
• PC Jewellers MD Balram Garg: up 30-35% in volume and 45-50% in value, as reported by PTI.
• All India Jewellers and Goldsmith Federation (part of CAIT): gold and silver sales above Rs 66,000 crore nationwide over several days, with Delhi's bullion markets above Rs 10,000 crore.
• Whalesbook reported volume growth limited to 10-12%, with value up 20-30%, citing industry estimates.

Company-level claims come from retailers with an interest in good headlines, and the federation figure covers several days, not Dhanteras alone. The GJC estimate is the most conservative on volume.

Silver and what buyers are choosing

Silver has fallen 52.4% from its January 29 peak of Rs 4,04,500 per kg to Rs 1,92,500, but is still above the Rs 1,70,000 per kg of last Dhanteras. GJC expects silver sales up 30% in value and 10% in volume. Buyers are trading down in carat: Rokde and Kalyan Jewellers executive director Ramesh Kalyanaraman described demand for lightweight and 18-carat pieces, pendants, chains and small coins, with smaller cities such as Jaipur, Surat and Raipur showing strong traction. Old-gold exchange is also supporting sales. World Gold Council India CEO Sachin Jain said walk-ins were strong across jewellery, coins, bars, ETFs and digital gold.

Who it hits

For a jeweller, a value-led festival helps revenue but not necessarily inventory turns: the same number of pieces at a higher metal cost ties up more working capital. Lower-carat and silver mix shifts the margin profile too. For the global gold market, India is the second-largest consumer after China, so price-sensitive buying there matters for physical demand. See our coverage of third-quarter global gold demand and Goldman's gold forecast cut.

Sources: PTI via Daily Excelsior, The New Indian Express, Whalesbook, all November 6, 2026. All sales figures are preliminary industry estimates and are attributed to the people who gave them. This is market information, not investment advice.