The shares of Hindustan Zinc and Vedanta jumped up to 5% on Wednesday after the government sharply increased customs duties on gold and silver to 15% from 6%, triggering a rally in precious metal prices and boosting investor sentiment for India’s largest silver producer.
The latest import duty hike was introduced as a policy measure to curb the rupee’s free fall and moderate non-essential imports during a period of heightened global uncertainty linked to the Iran-US conflict, which continues to keep oil prices elevated above the $100-per-barrel mark, with no signs of an early resolution.
