Jewelers in Demand as Indians Try to Dispose of Banned Bills
- Consumption estimated to fall to seven-year low, WGC says
- Modi’s crackdown on corruption, high prices to cut demand
Gold chains and necklaces sit on display inside the Dwarkadas Chandumal Jewelers store in the Zaveri Bazaar area of Mumbai, India, on Tuesday, April 21, 2015.
Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/BloombergIndian jeweler Bachhraj Bamalwa’s phone hasn’t stopped ringing since Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on national television that high-denomination bills will be withdrawn from Wednesday as the government cracks down on corruption.
Five hundred rupee ($7.5) and 1,000 rupee notes will cease to be legal tender from Wednesday, Modi said in an unscheduled address to the nation. With bullion usually purchased in cash in India, the announcement led to a frenzy among people wanting to convert their cash hoard into gold. That spurred some wholesalers to boost prices by as much as 23 percent, said Kumar Jain, owner of U.T. Zaveri jewelry store in Mumbai.