Gold premiums in India climb to a near four-month high

Physical gold premiums in India climbed to a near four-month high this week, driven by a rebound in demand as prices dropped, while top consumer China saw limited retail buying interest.

Domestic prices in India fell to 73,300 rupees per 10 grams earlier this week after hitting a record high of 79,775 rupees last month.

“Buyers were holding off for prices to drop, but once they did, retail buyers jumped in and started buying,” said a Hyderabad-based jeweller.

Indian dealers this week charged a premium of up to $16 an ounce over official domestic prices – inclusive of 6% import and 3% sales levies, from a premium of $3 last week.

Higher premiums indicate an increase in retail demand.

Jewellers were replenishing inventories after good sales during Dhanteras and Diwali festivals, said a Mumbai-based jeweller.

International spot gold prices were set to post their worst week in more than three years, after prices dropped to 2-month low on Thursday.

Despite gold trading significantly below its record high, a shift toward precious metals in China has not been noticed yet, said Hugo Pascal, a precious metals trader at InProved.

Dealers in China, the world’s top consumer of the metal, offered discounts between $10-$13 compared with last week’s $15-$17 discounts .

On the retail side, physical demand in China remains subdued amid a strong dollar and limited interest in the physical gold market, said Peter Fung, head of dealing at Wing Fung Precious Metals, Hong Kong.

Dealers in Hong Kong charged premiums up to $1.20 on gold, compared to last week’s $0.20 discount and $1 premium .

In Japan, bullion was sold at par to $0.5 premium, slightly changed from last week, while traders in Singapore sold it between a $1.10 to $2.20 premium.

Many clients in Singapore are waiting for prices to bottom before placing pending orders as further declines are anticipated, said Brian Lan, managing director at GoldSilver Central.