Gold Price in Kerala today -

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When it comes to buying gold for jewellery or investment purposes, people often get confused about the purity and quality of the gold. The two most commonly confused types of gold are KDM gold and hallmark gold. KDM gold refers to the gold that is made by mixing cadmium with gold, where gold is 92% and cadmium 8%. This brings down the gold's purity level to 92%. However, of late, the production of KDM gold has stopped, due to the associated health risks. Hallmark gold is gold certified by the Bureau of Indian Standards. The test is conducted at the assaying centres approved by the BIS. Hallmark gold is available in four varieties:

1. a) 23 Karat
2. b) 22 Karat
3. c) 21 Karat
4. d) 18 Karat. 

Higher the carat, better the purity. Hence, depending on how you plan to use the gold, you may select the carat.

The intention behind applying quantitative easing is to counter the situation created by an economic slump. Typically, during an economic downturn, the demand for credit goes down and deflation hits. Even though central banks around the world use interest rate manipulation to tackle such situations, QE is usually their last resort.

Points to Know about QE

1. It is a part of a country’s designated monetary policy
2. Even though it existed for a long time, the recession of 2008 saw its implementation on a broader scale.
3. In QE, central banks print new currency to buy assets and inject more cash in the system.
4. It affects the value of a currency
5. It works effectively to counter deflation and stimulate an economy
6. QE is considered as a short-term measure

• Quantitative Easing and Gold

The relationship between QE and gold is inversely proportionate. It means when money is injected into the system, the price of gold goes down. Although extra money makes it seem like the gold prices are soaring, that isn’t the case.

With the implementation of this tactic, the gold prices largely remain the same, grow but at a slower pace, or even go down during certain instances.

Here Quantitative Easing Tapering is also vital to know about. It means when a central bank agrees to stop new currency printing, which results in a shortfall in the system. So, the flow of cash goes down, but the amount of gold remains the same. Hence, the price of gold increases steeply.

There are many micro and macroeconomic factors that determine the gold rates in India. Some of the factors that influence that gold rates are: gold production, inflation, government’s gold reserves, demand and supply of the gold commodity in the market, import rates, interest rates, taxes, local demand, etc. Since an unprecedented emergency is likely to arise at any moment, being a resident here, it is good to have an eye on the latest gold rates in cityname. The market price of the gold and the gold valuation offered by the lender is likely to vary. The lender calculates the average gold price of 22-Karat gold according to the rates from the past thirty dates. This is how the lender concludes on the gold gram rate. The value of the gold loan that you get is dependent on two factors – the average gold price and the lender’s LTV (loan to value) ratio. The RBI has also directed the lender to disburse up to 90% of the market value of the gold till March 31, 2021.

Gold holds an impeccable value in terms of quantifying one’s wealth as well as for investment. Thus, judging the quality and purity of gold is of utmost importance, both for buyers and for traders.

Primarily, the gold’s purity is determined through the Karat system that measures the same on a scale from 0 to 24. For instance, a 24 karats gold jewellery contains 100% gold. On the other hand, in a 14K gold jewellery, the percentage of gold is 58.33%, and the rest is other metal or alloy.

The gold purity can be measured both by percentage and parts per thousand. However, to convert the Karat into a percentage, one needs to divide the Karat number by 24 and then multiply it by 100.

Another easy way to determine gold’s purity is by checking the hallmark stamp on gold jewellery. This hallmark includes the authorised logo, date of manufacturing, carat weight or fineness of the gold in question. In several countries, including India, it is mandatory to sell gold jewellery with hallmark stamp. 

Lastly, the traders generally use an electronic gold tester to measure the quality and purity of gold. It shows the result accurately within seconds.