The NFO was scheduled to open on May 15 and close on May 29. The fund was designed to invest in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) linked to gold and silver.
“We have decided to defer the NFO of our Gold-Silver Passive FoF in light of the broader national conversation around precious metal imports and their impact on the external account,” says Navneet Munot, MD & CEO, HDFC Mutual Fund.
The withdrawal follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi‘s appeal urging citizens to refrain from buying gold and silver for a year, aimed at conserving foreign exchange reserves amid global economic uncertainty. The government has also raised import duty on gold and silver to 15% from 6%, in a move to curb demand.
“This is a sensible commercial call after the Prime Minister’s appeal and a 15% duty hike in previous metals,” says Dhirendra Kumar, founder, Value Research. Precious metals have been among the top-performing asset classes over the past year. In rupee terms, gold has returned 61% while silver has surged 172%, even as the Nifty 50 declined 5.19% during the same period. Investor flows into precious metals have also accelerated sharply. Assets under management of silver ETFs rose from ₹15,477 crore in April 2025 to ₹81,944 crore in April 2026, while gold ETF assets increased from ₹61,422 crore to ₹1.78 lakh crore.
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