Mumbai :  India’s gold demand in the second quarter this year fell 18 per cent to 131 tonnes on account of rise in prices, government regulations and jewellers’ strike, the World Gold Council said in its latest report. Total gold demand stood at 159.8 tonnes in the corresponding quarter last year, according to the WGC Gold Demand Trends Q2 2016 report.

In terms of value, India’s gold demand for April-June period dropped by 8.7 per cent to Rs 35,500 crore, compared to Rs 38,890 crore in the corresponding quarter of 2015.

“Consumer demand fell 18 per cent in the country to 131 tonnes in Q2 2016, as it was a truncated period for sales as jewellers’ strike extended into April and remained more or less effective until ‘Akshaya Tritiya’ (considered auspicious occasion for buying gold), when sales saw a brief boost,” Somasundaram PR, Managing Director-India, WGC, told PTI here.

“However, elevated price levels and a regulatory push for transparency through PAN cards, tax collection at source and excise duty on jewellery, coupled with weaker rural incomes kept demand subdued,” he said.