Dhanteras off to a slow start over late muhurat

Chennai: Delay in the start of auspicious time saw tepid consumer response for Dhanteras on Friday. However, jewellers are hoping the sales to get better by tomorrow.

Unlike Dhanteras in previous years, auspicious timing or ‘muhurat’ started in the evening by around 6.30 pm on Friday and was supposed to last till 3.30 pm on Saturday. This saw lower footfalls during the day.

“Footfalls were lower during the mornings unlike in the past. Further, it was a working day. Customers have started coming more in the evenings and we are keeping the stores open till midnight. By tomorrow, we hope that the sales will be better than last year,’ said Sandeep Kulhalli, Senior Vice President, Retail and Marketing, Jewellery Division of Titan.

Bachhraj Bamalwa, former chairman of All India Gem & Jewellery Domestic Council (GJC) also confirmed this trend. ‘As per my interactions with jewellers across the country, Dhanteras sales have just started picking up. Till now the business is almost similar to last year. However, we expect a 10 per cent rise in sales by tomorrow,’ he said.  Last year, the sales were muted as the prices had risen sharply around that time.

However, compared to last year prices are much higher this time.  The price of gold was Rs 32,500 per 10 gm last Dhanteras, whereas this time the price of gold is hovering around Rs 3,9000.