Sale of old jewellery by Indians is likely to go up in the coming weeks despite a 10-15% annual hike already seen in the sale of household gold this month. Worth mentioning here is that Indian are selling their old gold to take advantage of a rally in the yellow metal price. Experts say local gold prices are likely to go up further in the coming week. In 2019 so far, gold prices have already rallied 19% due to worries over global economic growth from a prolonged US-China trade war, geopolitical tensions on Iran and US Federal Reserve rate jitters.

Gold prices on COMEX are staying above $1,420 per troy ounce while on MCX gold prices are trading above Rs 35,100 per 10 gram. Expectation of monetary easing by major central banks has lowered investment confidence, leading to increased purchase of gold as it is considered as a safe haven asset. Fall in the dollar index and US bond yields has also fueled investor's appetite for the precious metal. In the spot market in India, gold prices hit a record high of Rs 35,970 per 10 gram on Monday, up nearly 20% from the Rs 29,895 level recorded on the same date last year.

Gold prices in India also got a boost after the government raised import duty on the yellow metal to 12.5%, from 10% earlier. The higher price of gold at the exchange has prompted people to sell old gold to take advantage of the price. Experts say traders are also taking advantage of the price arbitrage available on spot and future market by buying gold from spot and making delivery in the exchange to lock-in profit. On Tuesday gold prices dipped as the US dollar strengthened and some investors locked in profits ahead of the US Federal Reserve meeting next week. Spot gold on US exchange was down 0.7% at $1,415.15 per ounce.