Dhanteras: Why India's Diwali gold rush is different this year

Soaring gold prices have dented jewellery demand but Indians are not ready to give up on the metal yet.

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Shops have stayed open even on holidays, and at dusk, dozens of cars line up the streets as a string of flashy signboards beckon shoppers into the flower-adorned stores.

Soaring gold prices - which have topped $1,440 (£1,081) for 10g - may have slightly dented demand for jewellery in the world's second largest market for the yellow metal this year, but Indians are not willing to entirely give up on their penchant for gold yet.

Diwali, along with Dhanteras - a smaller festival that falls on Saturday this year - are believed to be auspicious occasions to buy precious metal, with hundreds of thousands of Indians flocking the markets to buy gold and silver coins, bars and jewellery, which they believe bring wealth and luck.

Skyrocketing prices have created FOMO - or the fear of missing out - in the minds of buyers, who are worried prices might rise even further, Prakash Pahlajani, who runs Kumar Jewels, a family-owned business, told the BBC on a busy evening at his shop.