Akshaya means imperishable, that which has no end and is present in great quantity. Tritiya means the 3 day, since the festival falls on the 3 day of Amavaasai of the month Vaisakh.
There are various ways to celebrate Akshaya Tritiya. This favorable day is celebrated all across the country in India. According to the Indian scriptures, one should celebrate the day by doing the following things to bring prosperity and happiness:
- Donate money to orphanage
- Perform Annadanam, Food to Hungry Poor People
- Donate old clothes, umbrellas and slippers to any ashram
- Begin any new project, for example, conducting marriages, construction of a house, joining any new course, starting film poojas, etc.
- Buy gold and silver ornaments. If you cannot buy in sovereigns, at least buy in grams
- Buy your monthly house hold provisions
Akshaya Tritiya cascade on Monday, 13 May’2013. We also suggest respecting the above rituals. On the other hand, we would like to point out the Five to you for this year. As stated above, buying gold and silver ornaments or coins is one such ritual practiced by most Indians. Therefore, we shall highlight bullion as an investment avenue that should be invested in on this auspicious day.
Usually, Akshaya Tritiya falls between the months of April and May every year. In 2012, it was held on April 24th while in 2011, 2010 and 2009, it was celebrated on 6th May, 15th May and 27th April respectively. The performance of gold prices portrayed in the table below during the above mentioned period is as follows:-
The table below that the Y/Y performance is very irregular in nature and that although India is the largest consumer of gold, it has a lower impact on gold prices during the Akshaya Tritiya. Though, it is treated as a benchmark period for the Indian investors’ asset allocation phase. Nevertheless, other domestic and global factors do play a major role in deciding the gold trend. We shall discuss how gold should be traded in the year 2013. We shall explain the likely future trend of gold in the year ahead.
|
Year |
Akshaya Tritya |
Gold Rate In Rupees |
Performance |
|
2009 |
27 Apr |
14,622.00 |
4% |
|
2010 |
15 May |
18,164.00 |
24% |
|
2011 |
6 May |
21,846.00 |
20% |
|
2012 |
24 Apr |
28,873.00 |
32% |
|
2013 |
13 May |
26,965.00 |
-7% As on 11 May |
India imported 200 tons of gold from January to March’2013, down 23.67% from the same period last year. In April 2013, the import was down approximately 25%, lower than the 71 tons shipped in the same month last year. Imports are slowing down after the government raised import duty by 50% to curb imports. From the global and domestic fronts, gold has fallen over 15%. Therefore the already stocked gold is still held up with Indian importers. Looking at the global scenario, investors’ moving to other asset classes may keep gold prices under pressure in the near term. Hence, we expect gold prices to remain weak. However, we believe the weakness may continue until the current quarter and thereafter, a recovery should be seen as the year progresses. Since Akshaya Tritiya falls on Monday, 13th May this year and gold is already down over 15% YTD, we recommend buying gold bullion in a spread out manner.