Indian Gold Prices Jump 60% in a Year to Rs 1.57 Lakh, Ganesh Chaturthi Sales Volume Falls 15%

Gold buying in India took a hit this Ganesh Chaturthi, and the reason is simple: the metal got a lot more expensive, fast.

In Mumbai's spot market on Monday, gold was trading at Rs 1.57 lakh per 10 grams, including the 3% goods and services tax, according to the Times of India. A year earlier, on Ganesh Chaturthi 2025 (August 28), the price stood at roughly Rs 98,000 per 10 grams. That's a 60% jump in twelve months.

Volume sales fell about 15% year-over-year as a result, industry executives told the Times of India. Consumers either bought less gold or switched to lighter jewelry designs to keep their total spend manageable.

Old Gold, New Habits

Surendra Mehta, national secretary of the India Bullion & Jewellers Association, said the mood among retailers hasn't turned sour despite the volume drop. "Domestic gold prices have remained at a historic high, which has impacted volume sales. But overall the mood is optimistic, with many people resorting to old gold jewellery exchanges to buy new jewellery, which is mostly lightweight," Mehta said, in comments reported by the Economic Times and cited by the Times of India.

Instead of buying gold outright, more shoppers are trading in what they already own to offset the higher price of new pieces. It keeps transaction volume moving even when fresh demand cools.

Coins and bars, meanwhile, told a slightly different story. Kumar Jain, owner of the 100-year-old Umedmal Tilokchand Zaveri outlet in Mumbai's Zaveri Bazaar, said bullion demand "had picked up during this year's Ganesh Chaturthi, although volumes remained below last year's level." People are still setting money aside in gold form for auspicious occasions. They're just doing it more cautiously.

The World Gold Council's read, cited by Press News Agency, backs that up: the festive season opened on a "cautious note" as the price spike pushed consumers into a wait-and-watch mode, deferring discretionary purchases. Wedding-related demand held up better, and physical investment demand stayed steady.

Betting on Wedding Season

Retailers are pinning their hopes on the peak wedding season, which overlaps with the festive calendar this year. Rohan Hemdev, director of Ananya Jewels, said buyers are increasingly looking for pieces that pull double duty. "We are seeing greater interest in diamonds as buyers seek jewellery that is versatile enough for celebrations, gifting and everyday wear," Hemdev said. He also pointed to growing interest from younger, self-purchasing consumers, and expects festive-season sales to post double-digit growth once wedding demand, rising disposable incomes, and social-media-driven buying trends kick in.

If gold prices keep climbing or simply stay elevated, jewelers will need the wedding season to genuinely offset a slow festive open.

The bigger, unresolved question is whether the 15% volume drop is a one-festival blip or the start of a longer adjustment. Gold has effectively doubled in price terms over roughly two years by these figures, and Indian households have historically treated gold purchases as semi-mandatory for festivals and weddings regardless of price. Whether that habit holds at Rs 1.57 lakh per 10 grams, or whether coins, old-gold exchanges and lightweight jewelry become the new normal, will show up in the sales data from the wedding season still ahead.