Gold Sales For Akshaya Tritiya Festival Expected To Drop By More Than 50%

According to a report by the Economic Times, high gold prices have led to a dampening in demand that's likely to result in buys that will be less than 50% of last year's total:

Gold consumers may buy about 20 tonnes of the precious metal on the day of the festival that falls on May 16, less than half of the 45 tonnes they bought last year, Prithviraj Kothari, director with Bombay Bullion Association said on Friday.

"Looking at the prices, if they want to buy 10 grams, they will now buy 5 grams for the festival," he said.