Gold
Indian households are estimated to own more gold than the US Federal Reserve, the IMF and Switzerland hold combined. Gold is both a precious metal and a financial asset: bought as jewellery, held as a store of value and traded through gold ETFs and other products. In India its price also includes import duty and GST, so it runs higher than the global price alone would suggest.
Gold tends to do best exactly when everything else is doing worst, which is why it is called a hedge.
During high inflation, a weak rupee or global uncertainty, investors move money into gold because, unlike a company or a currency, gold does not depend on anyone’s promise to pay. Gold demand in India also spikes every wedding and festival season, with tradition and financial instinct pulling in the same direction.
Gold rose more than 60% in a year as central banks bought heavily and uncertainty spread. The run continued to a record near $5,600 an ounce in January 2026, then broke violently on January 30, when gold fell about 10% in a day.