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Finance & Economics
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Gold demand in India
印度的黄金需求
Carrot and stick
胡萝卜加大棒
India's booming demand for bullion is worrying the government
印度激增的黄金需求让政府忐忑不安
Covid-19 hit India hard, leaving millions jobless and struggling to get by.
新冠疫情让印度遭受了重创，数百万人失业，民众生活艰难。
Yet Sachin Rana, who runs a jewellery stall in New Delhi’s Malviya Nagar market, says sales have been booming since lockdowns ended.
然而，在新德里的马尔维亚纳加尔(Malviya Nagar)市场经营一家珠宝摊位的萨钦·拉纳却表示，自疫情封锁结束以来，珠宝销量一直在激增。
After months in isolation, consumers were keen for a blowout during Diwali, a festival in November.
在与世隔绝几个月之后，消费者们迫不及待地想要在11月的排灯节期间来一场狂欢。
A bumper wedding season has followed, creating plenty of occasions to wear jewellery or give it as a gift.
紧随其后的便是盛大的婚礼季，佩戴珠宝或送珠宝礼物的场合大大增加。
The pandemic has proven that “Indians will never stop buying gold”, says Mr Rana.
拉纳表示，这场疫情已经证明，“印度人永远不会停止购买黄金”。
Pent-up demand for pendants and parties pushed bullion sales to the highest on record in the last quarter of 2021, reckons the World Gold Council, an industry body that has tracked consumption since 2005.
自2005年以来一直跟踪黄金消费的行业机构世界黄金协会(World Gold Council)估计，对吊坠的潜在需求以及各种聚会让黄金销量在2021年第四季度达到了历史最高水平。
Indians picked up around 340 tonnes of gold over the period, equivalent to the weight of five healthy Indian elephants every week.
在此期间，印度人共囤积了约340吨黄金，相当于每周囤积5头健康的印度大象的体重。
India’s special relationship with gold predates covid-19, of course.
当然，印度与黄金的特殊关系早在疫情之前就存在了。
It is the world’s second-largest market for the yellow metal, behind China, though it produces almost none at home.
虽然印度国内的黄金产量几乎为零，但它是仅次于中国的世界第二大黄金市场。
This is partly driven by tradition.
这在一定程度上是因为传统因素。
Brides are given jewellery as part of their dowry and it is deemed auspicious to buy bullion around certain religious festivals.
珠宝往往会作为新娘的嫁妆，而且在某些宗教节日期间购买金条被视为一种吉兆。
It is a handy store of undeclared wealth, too, often stashed in wardrobes or under the mattress.
黄金还是一种便携的、未经申报的财产，通常会被藏在衣柜里或床垫下。
But the pandemic has also affirmed an investment advice passed on over generations: park savings in gold as a rainy-day fund.
但新冠肺炎疫情也证实了一条代代流传下来的投资建议：储蓄黄金以备不时之需。
In the past two years many families have made ends meet by selling jewellery, ornaments, bars and coins at pawn shops and informal markets.
在过去的两年中，许多家庭通过在当铺和非正式交易市场出售珠宝、饰品、金条和硬币来维持生计。
Others have borrowed against the stuff.
还有人用这些物品作为抵押进行贷款。
The three largest non-bank financial companies offering gold loans saw their assets jump by 32%, 25% and 61% year on year, respectively, in 2020.
2020年，三大提供黄金贷款的非银行金融公司的资产分别同比增长32%、25%和61%。
Gold’s appeal as a safe haven is only rising: as tensions escalate in Ukraine, its price is approaching records.
黄金作为安全避风港的吸引力只会上升：随着乌克兰紧张局势的升级，其价格正在接近纪录。
