The 10-gram question

SOURCES

Reserve Bank of India, monthly average price of standard gold in Mumbai, April 1990 to August 2026, as published in the RBI Bulletin on DBIE; and its Handbook of Statistics on the Indian Economy, the average price of gold in domestic and foreign markets, by month to April 2026 and by financial year to 2025-26, which gives the London price in dollars and in rupees. Reserve Bank of India, the daily rupee–dollar reference rate, as published on DBIE. Labour Bureau, the consumer price index for industrial workers on the 1982, 2001 and 2016 bases to August 2026, as published on DBIE, with the linking factors as printed in the RBI Bulletin. Reserve Bank of India, foreign exchange reserves by month to August 2026 and by week to 25 September 2026, as published on DBIE. The import-duty dates are from the Union Budget of 2024 and the notification of 2026, not from DBIE.

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METHOD

The price. The Mumbai monthly average of standard gold, a bullion price: no making charges, no GST, with the import duty inside it. Years are calendar-year averages of the months DBIE carries; 1990 is April to December 1990 and 2026 is January to August 2026. The grams a sum buys are the sum over the price, times ten.

The engines. The handbook prints the London price in dollars an ounce and the same price in rupees per 10 grams; the rate it used is read back from the two, and checked against the daily reference rate’s monthly average, which it matches within 1.5% in all but a few months. Mumbai’s gap is the Mumbai price over the London price in rupees. The three multiply exactly to the rupee price, so a window’s rise splits exactly into them; the chart stacks them on a log axis. The windows are financial years, as the handbook gives yearly averages.

The index. The consumer price index for industrial workers is carried on three bases, 1982, 2001 and 2016, which do not overlap on DBIE. They are joined with the Labour Bureau’s linking factors as the RBI Bulletin prints them: 4.63 from the 1982 base to 2001, 2.88 from 2001 to 2016. 2026 is January to August 2026.

The reserves. Gold and total reserves in dollars at each month’s end; the share is one over the other, so it moves with the gold price and the dollar as much as with what the Bank holds. The weekly report gives the volume in tonnes from 27 December 2019; the story quotes the first and latest weeks it gives. No advice is given or implied.