Gold prices in India dropped for the second consecutive day on Saturday, as did silver. The fall was due to lacklustre demand from jewellers and the overall declining trend in the prices of the yellow metal, reported Press Trust of India.
Gold prices fell Rs. 225 down to Rs. 29,575 per 10 gm and silver declined Rs.150 to Rs. 40,200 per kg in the Delhi bullion market, reported the agency. The yellow metal had spurted by Rs. 400 on Thursday to reach a high of Rs. 29,900 per 10 gm before setting off on a losing trend.
Despite the fall over the past two days, gold delivered a return of 17.36 percent and silver 21.17 percent based on their closing prices on Jan. 1 and April 22.
Meanwhile, the Indian government announced on Friday the formation of a panel to look into problems faced by jewellers over the imposition of the 1 percent excise duty. The panel will be headed by Ashok Lahiri, former chief economic advisor.
Other members of the panel include Rohan Shah, legal expert; Manoj Kumar Dwivedi, joint secretary in the department of commerce; Alok Shukla, joint secretary, tax research unit, CBEC and trade representatives.
"The Committee shall consider all issues related to compliance procedure for excise duty, records to be maintained, operating procedures and all other relevant issues," the Indian finance ministry said in a statement.
The re-introduction of the excise duty had led to jewellers going on a 19-day strike that was called off on March 19 following assurances by the government.
The strike led to a sharp fall of 80 percent in gold imports to $972.96 million on an year-on-year basis in March.
