Data Sources & Methodology
How We Ensure Precious Metals Price Transparency
RateTracker.in is committed to absolute clarity regarding precious metal prices. We do not manufacture pricing; rather, we aggregate, parse, convert, and verify official benchmarks to help South Indian buyers understand showroom bills.
1. Sourcing Channels
Our automated rate scrapers and analysts monitor announcements from primary wholesale trade bodies:
- AKGSMA (All Kerala Gold and Silver Merchants Association): The primary trade board representing retail showrooms across Kerala. We monitor their daily announcements published directly from the central committee.
- LBMA (London Bullion Market Association): Sourced for international spot rates (USD per troy ounce) used as a baseline validation index.
- Interbank Forex Rates: Sourced for the official daily USD-INR conversion rates.
2. Purity & Weight Math
Precious metals are traded internationally in 24K troy ounces. In Kerala, retail transactions occur in grams or Pavans (sovereigns) at 22K (91.6% purity). We apply the following mathematical standards:
22K Gold = 91.6% Purity (916 Standard)
24K Gold = 99.9% Purity (999 Standard)
18K Gold = 75.0% Purity (750 Standard)
1 Troy Ounce = 31.1034768 Grams
1 Pavan (Sovereign) = 8 Grams
1 Kilogram = 1,000 Grams
When AKGSMA publishes the 22K benchmark rate, we calculate the remaining purity margins using the official ratios:
24K Price per Gram = Math.round(22K Price * 24 / 22)
18K Price per Gram = Math.round(22K Price * 18 / 22)
1 Pavan Price (22K) = 22K Price * 8
3. Import Duties & Tax Adjustments
India's retail gold price differs from the international spot price due to import regulations:
- Basic Customs Duty (BCD) & Cess: Importers pay basic custom duties along with the Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess (AIDC) on raw bullion imports.
- GST (Goods and Services Tax): A 3% GST is applied at the retail level on the total cost of gold plus the making charges.
- International Price Conversion: When converting international USD prices to domestic retail estimates, we apply a standard import premium multiplier (currently 1.145 for Gold and 1.33 for Silver) to account for customs duties, cess, port fees, and bank importing charges.
4. Update Cycles & Accuracy Auditing
We update rates following standard market cycles:
- Morning Update: Rates are refreshed daily around 09:30 AM to 10:00 AM IST immediately following the AKGSMA pricing committee's bulletin announcement.
- Afternoon Adjustment: If international markets undergo major swings, regional associations may issue a revision. We monitor and publish these revisions in real time.
- Historical Validation: We retain a complete database archive of historical rates. Our analysts run validation checks against historical transaction records weekly to ensure database integrity.