Demonetisation effect: 15 tonnes of gold sold on November 8-9

Jewellers sold 15 tonnes of gold ornaments and bars, worth around Rs 5,000 crore, on the intervening night of November 8 and 9 after the government demonetised Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denomination notes, said Surendra Mehta, national secretary of India Bullion & Jewellers Association (IBJA). IBJA has 2,500 jewellers registered with it from across the country.

“We estimate gold worth Rs 5,000 crore, or around 15 tonnes, was sold between 8 pm on November 8 and 2-3 am the next day, after the PM’s demonetisation announcement,” Mehta told ET. He said nearly half of these sales happened in Delhi, UP and Punjab. He claimed that only 1,000 of around 6 lakh jewellers across the country had accepted Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes in exchange for gold on the night of November 8.

IBJA has requested the government to take strict action against erring jewellers as they had brought a “bad” name to the entire trade, Mehta added.

Demonetisation effect: 15 tonnes of gold sold on November 8-9