莫迪年内第二次呼吁印度民众非必要勿买黄金

The Odaily Planet Daily reports that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged Indian citizens to avoid buying gold unless necessary, renewing his earlier call to curb gold demand as a widening trade deficit and a weakening rupee put pressure on the Indian economy. Modi made these remarks amid local media reports that the government is considering lowering import tariffs on gold and silver, after previous tariff hikes failed to curb inflows of the metals. This is Modi's second such appeal this year.

In May, he had asked Indians to refrain from buying gold for at least a year to conserve foreign exchange reserves. Gold is India's largest import item after oil and a major source of its trade deficit. In the first four months of the fiscal year starting in April, India's gold imports rose more than 32% year-on-year, further intensifying pressure on the rupee. India's trade deficit widened to nearly $32 billion in July, the highest level since January this year. In a video address, Modi said: "If it's not necessary, don't buy gold." He added that with wars disrupting global supply chains, India needs to boost its economic self-reliance to sustain growth. He also urged citizens to buy domestically made products and avoid traveling abroad for tourism and weddings. (Jin Shi)