Mumbai: HDFC Mutual Fund has withdrawn the new fund offer (NFO) of its proposed Gold-Silver Passive Fund of Fund, amid concerns over rising precious metal imports and their impact on India's trade balance. 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.