Today’s Gold Rate in Guwahati

Guwahati is one of the largest cities in the North-eastern part of India. It is also the capital city of Assam. It is considered to be a city with rich heritage that has an environment which is conducive for the business and investments. Gold jewellery is one of the popular forms of investment in the city. During festivals like Diwali, the city becomes a hub for gold lovers. Gold, thus, occupies a very special place in the mind and heart of the people of Guwahati. To assess today’s gold rate in Guwahati, a lot of factors need to be considered some of which will be discussed as below.

Trend of Gold Rate in Guwahati for last 10 days

Factors that influence gold prices in Guwahati

Factors that affect gold rate in Guwahati are:

• Demand: Gold is a limited natural resource. Therefore, its demand can majorly impact gold rates in India. Whenever the demand of gold in Guwahati increases, the price of gold also increases.
• Supply: The production or the supply of gold affects gold rate in Decline in the supply of gold in the city, especially at the time of festivals, can increase gold rate in Guwahati.
• Rupee-dollar equation: Gold is largely imported. Therefore, if ‘rupee’ weakens against dollar, gold rates will increase in terms of ‘rupees’. A declining ‘rupee’ may badly affect the demand of gold in India.
• Geo-political crisis: Gold is known to be a great hedge against geo-political crisis. Investors therefore, start buying gold whenever there is a speculation or an event of geo-political tension. Thus increasing the gold rates not only in Guwahati but also in other parts of the country.
• Inflation: Besides geo-political crisis, inflation is another phenomenon from which gold shields your financial interests. When inflation in India increases, the value of ‘rupee’ declines, forcing people to hold their money in the form of gold. This resultantly, pushes gold rates in India high.

Why gold rate in Guwahati are different in different cities?

Gold rates in India are primarily influenced by global cues and thus should ideally be same across the country but it is not the case. Gold rate in Assam is different from the gold rate in Delhi. Gold rate in Guwahati and other cities of Assam may not be the same due to multiple factors that influence the current gold rate in Assam’s various cities of the following factors:

• Gold Associations: To some extent gold associations have the power to fix gold rates to some extent. It is especially true for larger cities such as Delhi and Hyderabad. This can be considered as one of the major reasons behind difference between the gold rate in Assam and gold rate in Delhi or gold rate in Mumbai.
• Volume Play: Buying gold in large quantities causes a resultant decrease in production process and therefore, the lesser availability in larger cities such as Mumbai and Kolkata. This will also affect the gold rate in Assam and other major cities such as Delhi and Mumbai.
• Transportation Expenses: Transporting gold from one location to another requires special arrangements and such expenses can potentially affect gold prices in Guwahati.

Last 4 Months Trend of Gold Rate in Guwahati

Gold as an Investment in Guwahati

Gold rate in Guwahati are in general a representation of gold rate in the domestic as well as International market. It witnesses a lot of fluctuations due to several factors, some of which have already been discussed above. The demand of gold increases significantly during the festivals and occasions such as Dhanteras and Diwali. Guwahati being the largest city in Assam and a major hub for gold transactions attract a large number of buyers from other neighbouring places in and around the state. In the recent years, there have been many business opportunities coming up which implies higher disposable income of the people living in Guwahati and thus high sales of gold there.

In addition to gold jewellery, people invest in gold in other forms as well. Some of the other gold investment options are:

• Gold Jewellery: Despite prevailing high gold rate in Guwahati during the festive season, people in the city love to buy gold especially in the form of jewellery that can be worn by them and also can get them good returns.
• Gold Coins: Jewellers and banks deal in the sale of gold coins. If you want to invest in 24K physical gold then gold coins can be a good option investment option for you.
• Gold Bars: Gold bars are also made of 24K pure gold. You can sell them as it is to get cash or get it made into gold jewellery.
• Gold ETF –Gold ETF is also known as Gold Exchange-traded Fund. Just like stocks, they are listed and traded on stock exchange. Investing in gold ETF leads to gains within a year from the date of investment. Moreover, it includes no risk of theft and storage hassles.
• Digital Gold – Digital gold is the new way of investing in gold. In this, you can buy and sell gold online anytime at live gold rate. You can invest in it in small denominations. Moreover, there are no storage hassles.
• Gold Mutual Fund –Investing in gold mutual funds is similar to investing in other mutual fund schemes. You can choose to invest in gold mutual funds either through lump sum or SIP method.

How to buy gold in Guwahati?

Three ways through which you can buy gold in Guwahati are:

• Banks/NBFCs: You can buy gold coins and bars from banks and NBFCs. These are one of the most reliable sources to buy 24 karat gold coins and gold bars. However, only a selected bank branches offer gold articles. Some banks and NBFCs even allow their customers to buy gold coins online from their official websites and netbanking portals.
• Jewellery Shops/Showrooms: This quite a common source to buy gold in India. But one must buy gold only from well-established gold jewellery shop or showroom. Buying a gold article from local jewellers might be risky as they don’t have an established credibility to uphold in the market. Moreover, renowned gold stores always provide a permanent invoice every time you buy gold.
• Online Platforms: Everything is becoming digitized and moved to web platforms. Physical gold that once used to be bought only from physical stores can now also be bought from various online websites. Gold can also be bought online in a dematerialised form. Gold ETFs, Gold Mutual Funds and Digital Gold are some of the ways to buy gold in a dematerialised form.

Also Read : Know How Jewellers Quote Gold Jewellery Rates

What is the difference between Carat and Karat?

The difference between the terms “Carat” and ‘’Karat” is given as below:

Carat: The word “Carat” is a measure of mass. It is usually used to express the weight of the precious stones and pearls and especially diamonds. 1 carat is equal to 200 mg. Higher the carat value; greater will be the price of the gemstone.

Karat: The word “Karat” is a measure of purity with respect to gold. The common karat values in India are 24 karat, 22 karat and 18 karat. Since pure gold is soft at room temperature, it can easily be moulded and hence cannot be used to make jewellery especially the ones with intricate designs. To make gold jewellery other metals need to be added such as copper, since and nickel. A 24 karat rating implies that the gold has the negligible amount of alloys or impurities in it. On the other hand, a 12 karat rating indicates that it has a 50 percent ratio of alloys in it. Here also the value of karat is directly proportional to the quantity of gold and hence its price. Higher the karat value, greater will be the gold rate.

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In terms of Physical Gold, how is gold purity measured?

Physical gold such as gold coins, gold bars and gold jewellery are made in different gold ‘caratage’. ‘Caratage’ is basically the measurement of purity of gold alloyed with other metals. 24 karat is pure gold. When we say pure, we mean that it is not alloyed with other metals. Low cartage implies lower amount of gold such as an 18 karat gold article contains 75 percent of gold and 25 percent of other metals such as copper and silver.

Finesse is yet another way to express the quantity of gold metal present in a gold article. Unlike Caratage, Finesse is represented in parts per thousand and is usually stated without a decimal point. For instance, the finesse for 24 karat gold is 999 or 995.

How is gold fineness calculated?

Finesse is represented in parts per thousand; therefore a 24 karat gold if expressed in finesse will be expressed as 999. Ideally it should be 1000 but it cannot be as even 24 karat gold includes some form of impurity in it. Similarly, 22 karat gold is expressed as 22 divided by 24 and then multiplied by 1000 giving you 0.9166 or 916 finesse.

Following is the fineness scale which is used while defining the purity of gold:

24 Karat = 999 or 99.9% Pure Gold

22 Karat = 913 or 91.3% Pure Gold

18 Karat = 750 or 75% Pure Gold

14 Karat = 585 or 58.5% Pure Gold

10 Karat = 417 or 41.7% Pure Gold

How much GST (tax) is imposed on 24 Karat Gold?

Tax calculation on gold relies on what it is used for; therefore it varies. If you ask about the impact of GST on gold prices in India, then after this new tax system is implemented the gold rates in India have slightly increased. Before GST came into picture, gold jewellers had to pay 1% excise duty, 1.2% VAT (Value Added Tax) and 10% customs duty on gold purchase. This summed up to 12.43% tax on gold. But after the implementation of GST, gold jewellers will now have to pay 3% GST on gold, an import duty of 10% and 18% tax on the making charges of the jewellery. Prior to GST, no tax was imposed on making charges of the jewellery. This effectively comes to 15.67%. Hence, buyers will have to pay an additional 3.24% as tax under the GST regime.

What are the important points to remember when buying gold jewellery in Guwahati?

Whether you are buying gold jewellery in Guwahati or in any other city of Assam, always keep the following points in mind when making the purchase:

• Research today’s gold prices in Guwahati

Gold prices in Assam fluctuate daily, making it important to stay abreast with the current gold rate trends in India. Monitoring gold rate in Guwahati will help you make the most informed decision on when to buy or invest in gold jewellery.

• Look for BIS Hallmark

BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) Hallmark is the first thing that a buyer must look for when buying gold jewellery in India. The hallmark ensures that you are not being cheated by the jewellers and are paying for the right quality of gold. Jewellers do not certify the purity. BIS assaying centres do that for you. Also, only jewellers licensed by BIS can get their jewellery certified at these centres.

• Enquire about Exchange Policies

Before buying gold jewellery, always enquire about their gold jewellery exchange policies. Doing so will help you when you need to exchange old gold jewellery designs with a new one. If your jewellery will have a good gold jewellery exchange policies, getting a new gold jewellery design will save you from buying a new one.

• Request for a Permanent Bill

Most buyers avoid an invoice so as to avoid paying tax on their purchase. But one must always request for a permanent bill instead of a temporary bill. This practise must be stopped as it can put you at further risk. Firstly your permanent bill is an official record of your gold purchase. It provides you the assurance of purity and will be helpful on any taxation related inquiries. It also acts as a proof of legal ownership. It also provides transparency as it includes current gold rate, weight of gold, gold jewellery making charges, GST (Goods and Services Tax) charges and other variables of the total amount.

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