Gold sales on the most auspicious day in India to buy the metal tumbled this year as high prices and concerns about an economic slowdown saw customers limit purchases. Prices in the world’s second-biggest gold consumer remain near the record reached last month, while the country’s growth has slipped to a six-year low, unemployment is rising and a lending crisis is affecting cash flow.

India’s gold imports fell for a third month in September to the lowest in more than three years as jewelers cut purchases on poor demand. Dhanteras, which fell on Friday and comes ahead of Diwali on Sunday, typically sees a pick up in demand as Indian shoppers lock in gold purchases. This year though, there were shorter queues outside jewelry stores in Mumbai’s Zaveri Bazaar, the country’s biggest bullion market.

Sales were as much as 20% lower than last year as customers shied away from making big purchases N. Anantha Padmanaban, chairman of the All India Gem and Jewellery Domestic Council. “What is keeping the buyers away are the high prices and the slowdown in the economy,” he said by phone. “People have their savings, but they are safeguarding it for the future as they don’t know what is in store for the next two to three months. So the fear is holding them back from spending.”

India’s peak wedding season begins soon after Diwali, making the final quarter typically the strongest for gold demand. Some buyers are combining their festival and wedding purchases, marking a structural change that’s occurring as prices go higher, according to Chirag Sheth, a consultant at London-based Metals Focus Ltd.