Several residents have started booking gold ornaments for Dhanteras almost a week in advance to cash in on the drop in the price of the precious metal.

The price of 22 carat gold in the state capital on Sunday and Monday was Rs 3,085 per gram. On Tuesday, it rose to Rs 3,120 per gram. Tuesday’s rate was, however, Rs 5 less than what it was on Saturday.

Taking note of the slide in gold price, people thronged the jewellery shops to book ornaments well in advance demanding delivery on Dhanteras, which falls on November 11.

With citizens rushing to jewellery shops to cash in on the price dip, most shops in the city remained crowded on Monday and Tuesday. Pawan Gupta, the owner of Alankar Jewellers, said: “More than 50 gold jewellery bookings were made at my shop on Monday.”

Rishu Kumar Gupta, the owner of Kasturi Jewellers at Bakerganj, echoed Pawan. At least 10 people booked ornaments at his store on Monday.

“We are witnessing a surge in the number of advance bookings. As nobody can predict when the gold price would shoot up again, several people booked jewellery in advance instead of waiting up to Dhanteras. Several customers booked jewellery on Monday and Tuesday, demanding delivery on the day of Dhanteras,” said Vivek Kumar Gupta, the owner of Alaka Jewellers in the Boring Road area.

Around 10 bookings were made at Alaka Jewellers on Monday.

Dheeraj Kumar, the owner of Navratan Jewellers & Bros, said: “Several customers came to my shop on Tuesday because of the dip in the price.”

Homemaker Sarita Singh said: “Since the price of gold can go up any day, I decided to book the jewellery today (Monday) and take it home on the day of Dhanteras.”

Excited over the dip in gold price, homemaker Beena Bhargava said: “The very thought of getting more gold for less prompted me to book a pair of earrings.”