Gold Rate in Chennai

Chennai is a metropolitan city and the capital of the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Chennai is one of the biggest consumers of gold in India as gold in Chennai is one of the hugely imported commodities. Since gold is looked at as a lucrative investment option and also has prominent cultural value, Chennai ranks above all the other cities and states of India when it comes to gold trading. Therefore, the city witnesses major sell and purchase of the yellow metal on a daily basis.

There are numerous jewellery establishments in Chennai that mainly deal in the selling of gold jewellery as people are highly involved in investing in gold ornaments. No matter what the gold rate today in Chennai is, the citizens of the city love gold and purchase it at any given rate. It is important to note that the gold rate in Chennai changes on a daily basis depending on numerous factors such as the demand and supply equation, inflation, the rate of the US dollar and others.

Gold rate in Chennai is determined depending on the decision of the Bullion Association in accordance with the international stock exchange.

In the city of Chennai, gold rates are fixed twice in a day. The rate at which the trading for gold commences at the start of the day is called the open rate and the rate at which he trading concludes is called the closing price. Madras Jewellers and Diamonds Association is responsible for fixing the gold rate every day. Many jewellers in Chennai are members of MJDMA who are notified about the changing gold rates.

If an individual wants to buy physical gold, all he or she has to do is go to the nearest jewellery shop and purchase gold jewellery and/or gold coins. It is advisable to opt for coins since jewellery has making costs, which the individual will not be able to recover when selling. Other than physical gold, one has the option of buying gold ETFs. They are funds that mainly invest in gold, and can be purchased and sold on the exchange. To buy gold ETFs, one simply needs to ask the broker to buy after opening a broking and trading account. Sovereign gold bonds are also listed, and individuals can buy them in the same manner as listed shares are bought.

One of the popular ways of investing in gold in Chennai is buying gold ornaments. However, with the new investment avenues, investors are also investing in Gold ETFs.

Here are a few gold investment options in Chennai:

• Gold coins and bars: Gold coins and bars are available in various karats and grams, and can be easily purchased from banks or a jeweller. It is important to note that banks do not take the coins and bars back, but jewellers do. Also, banks charge an additional cost for providing you with gold purity certificate.

• Gold jewellery: Gold jewellery can be purchased in the form of rings, necklaces, earrings and others. Gold ornaments include making charges that are included in the purchase cost. However, on selling gold ornaments an individual is likely to get a low selling price as the making charge is not considered.

• GOLD ETFs: In simple terms, Gold ETFs are units representing physical gold in paper or dematerialized form. Known as an exchange-traded fund, Gold ETFs consist of only one principal asset i.e. the gold that acts as an individual stock that invests in gold as commodity ETF. Gold ETFs can be traded at the stock exchange in the similar fashion as that of the other stocks.

• Gold Mutual Fund: One can invest in gold mutual funds just as an investment is made in an equity or debt funds. Investment in gold mutual fund can be made like fund of funds i.e. FOF that focuses on holding units of other gold-related funds or you can opt for a gold-related mutual fund that holds stocks of gold companies listed on the global stock exchanges.

It is necessary to note the price of gold since even a small variation in gold rate can lead to a major loss. The rates of gold today are very quite when compared with that of a decade ago. Buyers are advised to first compare the gold rate charged by one jeweller with that of others in the city. The well-established jewellers are likely to charge more in making charges for gold. If one finds that the making charges of gold is significantly high at one jewellery store, it is recommended to compare it with the rate charged by other goldsmiths or jewellers. By doing so, the individual might be able to find one whose price fits his or her pocket.

What is BIS Hallmarked Gold?

The BIS logo can be found on gold jewelleries that are hallmarked by the Bureau of Indian Standards. This is evidence that the gold's purity has been verified at one of the bureau’s licensed laboratories. It is essential to note that BIS hallmarking is not mandatory - not all jewellers offer hallmarked BIS jewellery. Some offer their in-house hallmarking of jewellery which is not verified by the national standards body of India. Before buying gold jewellery, it is advisable to check with the jewellers whether or not they offer BIS hallmarked ornaments.