NEW DELHI, Apr 17: The country’s gold imports rose 24 per cent to hit an all-time high of USD 71.98 billion in 2025-26 on account of high prices of the precious metal, according to Commerce Ministry data.
Gold imports stood at USD 58 billion in 2024-25. It was USD 45.54 billion in 2023-24 and USD 35 billion in 2022-23.
In volume terms, imports dipped 4.76 per cent to 721.03 tonnes. It was 757.09 tonnes in 2024-25.
Similarly, silver imports jumped about 150 per cent to USD 12 billion in the last fiscal due to higher prices. In volume terms, it rose by 42 per cent to 7,334.96 tonnes in 2025-26.
The rise in imports of these precious metals has pushed the country’s trade deficit (difference between imports and exports) to USD 333.2 billion during 2025-26, the data showed.
Prices of the yellow metal are hovering around Rs 1,56,000 per 10 grams (inclusive of all taxes) in the national capital. Silver was priced at around Rs 2.53 lakh per Kg.
Higher “gold import is driven by the rise in prices from USD 76,617.48/Kg (FY25) to USD 99,825.38/Kg (FY26), as the quantity of gold imports has declined from 757.09 tonnes (FY25) to 721.03 tonnes (FY26),” according to the commerce ministry.
Switzerland is the largest source of gold imports, with about 40 per cent share, followed by the UAE (over 16 per cent) and South Africa (about 10 per cent).
The precious metal accounts for over 5 per cent of the country’s total imports.
The total imports from Switzerland rose 11.36 per cent to USD 24.27 billion during 2025-26.
India is the world’s second-biggest gold consumer after China. The imports mainly take care of the demand by the jewellery industry. The imports have implications for India’s current account deficit (CAD).
India’s current account deficit (CAD) rose to USD 13.2 billion, or 1.3 per cent of GDP, in the December quarter from USD 11.3 billion in the year-ago period, mainly due to a higher trade deficit caused by a decline in exports to the US, according to RBI data released on March 2.
However, the current account deficit moderated to USD 30.1 billion (1 per cent of GDP) in April-December 2025 from USD 36.6 billion (1.3 per cent of GDP) in the same period a year ago.
A CAD occurs when the value of goods and services imported and other payments exceeds the value of export of goods and services and other receipts by a country in a particular period.
To discourage these imports, the government has imposed import curbs on all forms of articles of gold, silver and platinum. (PTI)
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