US Watch and jewelry sales remained steady in March, with a slight overall increase of 0.4 per cent, according to the latest US Department of Commerce figures. Jewelry sales rose slightly, while

Watch and jewelry sales in the US remained steady in March, with a slight overall increase of 0.4 per cent, according to the latest US Department of Commerce figures. Jewelry sales rose slightly, while watch sales dipped, as consumers opted for higher-priced items, but bought fewer of them.

In February overall sales increased by just 0.2 per cent and in January they fell by 1.0 per cent

The US government’s BEA (Bureau of Economic Analysis) reported a 0.7 per cent increase in consumer spending in March, the biggest increase for two years, but said it was largely driven by a rush to buy cars before US reciprocal tariffs forced prices up.

Watch and jewelry sales have been characterized by very modest increases in recent months, following on from a year of sustained growth – 10 per cent or more in some months – as shown below.

Reciprocal US tariffs – announced in April, then paused until July – will almost certainly hit sales, as producers forced to either absorb the costs or pass them on to consumers.

• President Donald Trump’s new tariff threat fueled demand for safe-haven assets, helping gold rise more than 1% to above $3370 (~Rs 96000), its highest level in almost a week.
• Concerns about a possible escalation of the global trade war have increased after President Trump announced his proposal to impose 100% tariffs on foreign-produced films, which has caused investors to turn to gold and other traditional safe-haven assets.
• Investors are currently anticipating the Federal Reserve’s policy decision and the speeches that several Fed officials are scheduled to give this week. Despite tensions over global trade, the strong non-farm payroll data released last Friday showed that U.S. hiring was still strong, indicating that the economy is resilient. Interest Rates are expected not to change at this meeting.
• President Trump is putting increasing pressure on the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates, but his tariff policies run the risk of making inflationary pressures worse, which makes policymaking more difficult.

Technical Triggers  

• Gold prices retraced to the $3210 level last week, a 50% Fibonacci retracement of its rally from $2970 (~Rs 86650) to $3510(~Rs 99350). Now prices are expected to consolidate between $3210(~Rs 92000) to $3380(~Rs 96000), either side breakout or breakdown will set a new direction for the prices for the coming days. Silver prices are expected to consolidate between $32 (~Rs 93500) and $34(~Rs 98500).

Support and Resistance

The Indian government has issued a legal notice to halt the “unethical” auction by Sothebys of ancient gem relics, which it said should be treated as the sacred body of the Buddha.The auction, which has prompted an outcry from scholars and monastic leaders, is scheduled for 7 May, and the gems are expected to sell for about HK$100m (£9.7m).

Its ministry of culture said the auction of the Piprahwa gems in Hong Kong this week “violates Indian and international laws, as well as United Nations conventions”, and demanded their repatriation to India “for preservation and religious veneration”.

The legal notice has been served on Sotheby’s Hong Kong and Chris Peppé, one of three heirs of William Claxton Peppé, a British colonial landowner who in 1898 excavated the gems on his estate in northern India, who are selling the relics.

Unearthed in 1898 by British estate manager and engineer William Claxton Peppé, the relics were discovered inside a sandstone coffer within the Piprahwa stupa, widely believed to be the ancient city of Kapilavastu, the Buddha’s childhood home. Among the contents were five reliquaries, including one of rock crystal with a fish-form handle, containing nearly 1,800 gemstones, precious metal sheets, bone, and ash.

An inscription in late Mauryan Brahmi script—deciphered by scholars Vincent Smith and later Harry Falk—affirmed the relics belonged to the Shakya clan and held the corporeal remains of the Historical Buddha. This epigraphic evidence, combined with early Pali texts like the Mahāparinibbāna-sutta, makes Piprahwa the only authenticated site of Buddha’s relics confirmed through inscription.

Following the discovery, a portion of the relics was presented to King Rama V of Siam (Thailand), and enshrined at Wat Saket in Bangkok, Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, and in Sri Lanka. The Indian Museum in Kolkata holds the majority of the gemstones, but the Peppé family retained a portion—approximately one-fifth—which is now coming to market.