Gold Rate Today in Murshidabad

Murshidabad, formerly called Maksudabad, was the last capital city of West Bengal before British rule. The town, presently situated on the banks of the Bhagirathi river, was named after Murshid Quli Khan( Dewan of Bengal, Orissa and Bihar). The city is famous for its splendours and is an agricultural trade and silk-weaving centre.

Gold holds tremendous importance in Bengali culture and traditions, and keeping up with it, Murshidabad is a prestigious taker of gold in all lengths and breadth of Bengal. The city consists of a big chunk of people investing in physical gold, especially for jewellery. However, nowadays, people are financing with digital gold as well.

Impact of GST on the rate of gold in Murshidabad

Currently, the Government of India has levied a tax of 3% on the purchase of gold under GST, which the end customer will bear. Furthermore, a flat rate of 5% GST will be computed on the price for making charges of gold. However, the long-term outlooks regarding the gold rate in Murshidabad since the inception of GST appear to be primarily positive.

Rate of gold in Murshidabad vs rate of gold in other cities

 Investment in gold is considered a profitable and fruitful option in Murshidabad. Besides the fluctuation in gold rate, a large population of middle-class people are intact in buying gold ensuring Murshidabad accounts for a significant gold transaction in Bengal. 

Thus, if we talk about the comparative analysis of the gold rate in Murshidabad with other cities, Kolkata ranks above all other cities in West Bengal.

Presently, the price of gold is the lowest in Kerala. Similarly, prices of gold are significantly lower in south Indian cities compared to the north or west.

How is the purity of gold evaluated in Murshidabad

Murshidabad launched the scheme of the Bureau of Indian Standards for gold in 2000. The purity of gold is computed in karats with different categories- 24 (99.9%), 22(91.67%), 20(83.3%), 18(75.0%), 14(58.3%), 10(41.7%) karats.

To be sure of the purity of the gold, there are a few signs you should look for in your gold purchase - 

• BIS mark
• Purity grade/ fineness
• Years of Marking
• Jewellers identification mark

Difference between 24 karats gold and 22 karats gold

Indeed, you must have heard about 'karat' when talking about gold and might wonder what it means. Karat is a unit used to represent the purity of gold. 

24 karat - This is the purest form of gold, i.e. all 24 parts contain gold only and no traces of other metals. Since it is extremely soft, it is fit to make jewellery. 

22 karat- This is said to be the standard form of gold. It contains 22 out of 24 parts of gold and the other two parts of different metals, namely, zinc, silver, and platinum. Commonly, it is called ‘916 gold' since it contains 91.67% of pure gold and is used to make jewellery.

Gold vs other investment options in Murshidabad

Every investment has its advantages and pitfalls. With the evolution of financial markets, the people of Murshidabad are consumers of both physical and digital gold purchases. So, if you are not in favour of buying physical gold, you can opt for alternatives such as ETFs (Gold Exchange Traded Funds), SGBs (Sovereign-gold bonds) and gold funds. 

An interesting fact about gold

Did you know that gold is the only naturally yellow metal? Other metals can only develop yellow colour on oxidation or reaction with some chemicals. Apart from this, you can distinguish highly pure gold from alloy-mixed gold by smelling or tasting it. High-purity gold is odourless and tasteless.

How are gold rates fixed in Murshidabad

Generally, the price of gold is set on the same principle for all states and towns in India. But, as there prevail variables to distinguish demand, supply and other factors in different states, the rate changes with the place. Price setting thus depends on several factors that include:

The international market price for gold

The reason gold rates in the international exchange matter is because much of the bullion in the country is imported. Gold rates in the global market depend on how well the US dollar performs. This is because metal is primarily traded in US currency.

Import duty

Every state has a different import duty which is added on top of the duty that should be paid for importing the metal into the country. Gold prices in the market may vary depending on the duty paid at a particular time.

Bank margins

Banks are usually one of the few institutions designated to import gold into the country. When banks get the metal into the country, they decide on a profit margin before selling it to retailers. The percentage cut banks decide to take will also affect how gold rates are set.

The MCX

The Multi Commodity Exchange, known commonly as the MCX, is a market where commodities are exchanged. Prices on this index will impact how gold is priced in a city, in this case, Kolkata.

Associations

The bullion association is an association of traders and retailers who discuss their gold-related concerns. To set a rate, these traders often consider some of the biggest retailers and their latest pricing while also considering the profitability of the rate they set.