Platinum jewellery market booms in India

With its price coming closer to gold, platinum jewellery has been gaining worldwide momentum in the past few years. The current spot price of platinum in local Indian markets is in the bracket of Rs 26,724 per 10 grams, in comparison to gold's value of Rs 18,279 per 10 grams. According to Platinum Guild International (India) statistics, from about 12 retail outlets where platinum jewellery was available in 2000-2001, it is now available in over 300 outlets. The platinum jewellery sales are expected to expand to more than 1,000 showrooms in the next 2-3 years. Leading platinum jewellery manufacturers in India have been targeting consumers in the age group of 20-40 years with high disposable income. Platinum jewellery items of various sizes, types and weight are available with almost with every mid-size jewellery maker and seller in tier-I and tier-II cities in India. Platinum is up 15 percent this year and market researchers say that the demand for platinum may increase to 15 tonnes by the end of 2010-11 against 10 tonnes in 2008-09. For platinum, India is an established market, particularly the southern region, where Chennai and Bangalore are the two most important markets. There are around 300 stores at present in India which keep platinum jewellery. According to a report by IBEF, India's share in the global platinum jewellery market is growing by 19 percent annually. It is less than one percent in the global platinum jewellery market. Given the global growth and the maturing of the Indian market to international trends, this represents an area of potential growth in India. Platinum comprises 2-3 percent of the total jewellery market in the country especially in the wedding and engagement rings segment. According to the Bombay Bullion Association, India consumed around 940 kgs of platinum metal in the fiscal year 2008-09. The approximate consumption by various sectors in India is estimated to be automobile (55%), petrochemicals (25%), jewellery (15%) and electronics & dental (5%). World demand The annual worldwide production of platinum amounts to some 160 tonnes, compared to about 1,500 tonnes of gold. According to UK-based F Hinds, platinum jewellery sales at the consumer level are up 700 percent since 1992, with worldwide demand growing by 1.5 percent to 2 percent annually. China, Japan, Italy, Germany and the US are the top destinations for platinum jewellery. China and Japan lead the world in consumption of platinum jewelry and the overall sales in these countries have increased about 20 percent over the five year period. According to a report by Johnson Matthey, platinum jewellery demand in China has already grown to a level that it has overtaken Japan and is currently the largest platinum consumer for jewellery in the world. China's gross platinum jewellery demand rose to a record 2.08 million ounces in 2009 due to its strong economic growth. So there is a place for both gold and the naturally white metal in India as well as worldwide. Platinum is a good investment and with such a small difference in the price of the two metals, platinum will surely increase in popularity at the higher end of the market. (Commodity online)