India struggles to balance its books as citizens lust for gold

MUMBAI — Kumar Jain’s small shop in Zaveri Bazaar, Mumbai’s labyrinthine jewelry district, has the feverish atmosphere of a Wall Street trading room. Women wave calculators, quote the latest global gold prices and haggle fiercely over bangles laid out on velvet trays.

These buyers are thinking about finance rather than finery. “Money can change value,” said Jain, as he watched his shop assistants and customers do battle. “But when you have gold, no one can cheat you.”

In India, the world’s biggest annual bullion importer, gold jewelry plays a central role in weddings and festivals. But its main appeal is as an investment favored by both rich and poor. India imported 933 metric tons of gold for private consumers last year, a 35 percent rise over five years and just under a quarter of global demand, according to the World Gold Council.

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