LUCKNOW, Oct. 19 -- As Diwali festivities began with Dhanteras on Saturday, the sale of gold and silver clocked good numbers in terms of money, but the quantity sold was lower compared to the previous year. Jewellers attributed this to the dip in prices of precious metals earlier this week which led to people restricting their purchases to smaller quantities in anticipation of a further dip. The reduced price of 10 gms 24 carat gold was Rs 1,32,400 while the price of 1 kg silver came down to Rs 1,71,000. About 42 kg gold worth Rs 55.61 crore was sold in the market during the day, which was less than 52kg gold worth Rs 42.12 crore last Dhanteras. But in terms of business, it was the second highest in 21 years with the highest being Rs 60.65 crore on Dhanteras in 2012. For the third consecutive year, silver broke its own records in terms of business. About 850 kg of silver worth Rs 14.54 crore was sold. The sale in terms of business was the maximum in 21 years, while the quantity of silver sold was the second highest, as per the charts with 1000 kg being sold on Dhanteras in 2024, shared Adesh Jain, senior vice-president, Chowk Sarrafa Association. "The reason for dip in volume of sales is sudden dip in prices from all-time high prices - which was Rs 5,000 decrease in gold and Rs 25000 decrease in silver prices. People restricted their purchases to smaller quantities, anticipating further dip. After the implementation of GST, there was a decrease in gold sales on Dhanteras from 95 kgs in 2017 to 29 kgs in 2018," said Jain. The utensils market also saw brisk business on the day. Lucknow Metal Merchants' Association president Harishchandra Agrawal said utensils worth over Rs 100 crore were sold on the occasion....