MUMBAI, India — Indian gold buyers are increasingly picking coins and small bars instead of necklaces and bangles as the India gold price notches fresh records and jewellery demand cools, Dec. 31, 2025.
The shift is being driven by a rally powered by safe-haven demand, U.S. interest rate cuts and a weaker rupee, which has made ornament purchases harder to justify once making charges and design premiums are added.
India gold price surge is changing what shoppers buy
Gold futures in India have pushed into uncharted territory in recent sessions, with the Multi Commodity Exchange showing a record ₹1,38,676 per 10 grams for the February contract, according to a Deccan Chronicle report.
At the consumer level, that sticker shock is rippling through wedding and festival buying. “Even reducing the weight of a gold necklace by six or seven grams can save more than 100,000 rupees,” Kolkata resident Nibedita Chakraborty said in a Reuters report, describing how households are trimming grams rather than abandoning gold altogether.
Coins and bars gain as jewellery demand softens
The World Gold Council said India’s total gold demand fell 14% year over year in the first nine months of 2025, with jewellery consumption down 26% to 278 metric tons while investment demand rose 13% to 185 tons. Investment accounted for a record 40% of total demand over that period, the report said.
Jewellers are responding by pitching lighter and lower-carat options to keep foot traffic moving. “Buyers want pieces that allow them to participate in gold ownership without feeling price pressure,” said Saurabh Gadgil, chairman of P N Gadgil Jewellers, which launched a lightweight-focused sub-brand this year, according to Reuters.
India gold price strength is being propped up by investment-led demand
Behind the counter, wholesalers and dealers say coins and bars are becoming the “default” purchase for families that still want exposure to the metal but cannot stretch to heavier sets. Prithviraj Kothari, president of the India Bullion and Jewellers Association, said consumers are buying “coins, bars, or gold ETFs” on expectations the rally continues, Reuters reported.
The World Gold Council has also pointed to imports as a sign of changing behavior. In mid-December, it said gold imports jumped to 340 tonnes between July and October, compared with 204 tonnes between January and June, calling it evidence of “investment-led support” in a market update.
Globally, the pattern has been similar: investment flows have surged while jewellery demand has struggled when prices hit successive highs, according to the council’s Gold Demand Trends research.
A trend with a longer history
The current swing is sharper, but it is not entirely new. When prices surged ahead of India’s 2024 festival season, the World Gold Council warned demand could slip to 700-750 tons for the year as record prices dented purchases, according to a Reuters report from October 2024.
Even earlier, in 2020, Indian dealers were offering steep discounts despite a pullback in prices, a sign that volatility and affordability can sideline buyers quickly, Reuters reported in an August 2020 market update.
For now, industry executives expect the India gold price to keep steering demand toward products that look more like investments than heirlooms — with jewellery increasingly redesigned, resized or postponed until prices cool.
