All that glitters is not an auction of pawned gold

Gold auctions have risen lately. A sign of distress? Partly. These are more likely the result of lenders sprucing up their gold-loan portfolios after RBI frowned on risky lending practices

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In the face of it, the spate of gold auctions being witnessed in India is the result of greater distress among those at the lower end of the income scale. According to news reports, after rising sequentially in the second quarter of 2024-25, auctions of pledged gold are expected to rise further in the current quarter. But in the absence of firm data on the underlying reasons, it is difficult to say with any certainty whether these auctions are being driven by the need for lenders to put their loan books in order and fall in line with the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) latest directives. Or by distress among gold loan borrowers, who are typically among those in the lower half of the country's pyramid.