This year, he is selling his gold jewellery to meet expenses, after failed attempts at starting a home business and finding another job. With fewer banks around, people in rural areas rely on gold in times of need as it can be easily liquidated. “You already had a financial problem last year and you got out of that problem through gold loans. Indians have been cutting down on their gold purchases in the past couple of years as a weak economy and the virus outbreak trims their spending power. In 2020, gold sales fell to the lowest in more than two decades, according to the World Gold Council.

Source: The Star July 13, 2021 01:52 UTC