If there was anything all agreed unanimously during the year was that the gold demand would definitely shrink in India during 00. The reasons being there was drought in some parts and floods in others. And, a few auspicious days for marriages during the year as well. All these pointers were indicating a fall in demand. However, as the year ended, analysts are now desperately trying to find reasons for the real picture.
Facts can be stranger than fiction.
The answer is a loud, no. And with speculators and hedge funds having shunned gold, the bullion markets now look at the continuation of the great Indian appetite for gold to be the only saviour for the yellow metal. Many traders in urban area exp-ect a poorer demand during 01 as compared to 00. However, ground realities in India do present a slightly different picture. The surge in demand seen during the last three months of 00 appears to have carried forward into the first two months of 01.