Rajesh Mehta, chairman of Rajesh Exports Ltd. (RJEX), India’s biggest jewelry maker and exporter, comments on gold demand after prices reached $1,700 an ounce for the first time. Gold for immediate delivery jumped to a record $1,715.75 an ounce today after Standard & Poor’s cut the top U.S. credit rating. Mehta spoke in a phone interview today. On gold prices: “The outlook depends on international markets. Prices have gone up too sharply. We will have to watch and see how investors will react. International markets find gold attractive. Retail customers may or may not like it.” On the U.S. rating downgrade: “The U.S. rating downgrade doesn’t mean too much for our business. We have a share of the U.S. market as far as exports are concerned, but our customers are jewelers rather than retail customers. There would be pressure on India. India is affected by the turmoil in international markets, but should see it as an opportunity.” On gold demand in India: “The gold demand is not bad, nor is it good. The demand has been moderate in the previous month. The higher prices are hurting Indian demand. Customers will take time to adjust to price levels. ‘‘There is not too much scrap sales. People will wait for some time before scrap sales start.’’ To contact the reporters on this story: Tanya Ashreena at tashreena@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Arijit Ghosh at aghosh@bloomberg.net

Source