By Rajendra Jadhav and Rahul Paswan
– Physical gold premiums slipped in India on a pull-back in demand this week as rising local prices prompted jewellers and retail buyers to stay on the sidelines, while demand for bullion in top consumer China and other major Asian hubs also remained subdued.
In India, domestic prices rose to 77,220 rupees per 10 grams on Friday after falling to 73,300 rupees last week.
“Jewellers were active last week following a significant price correction. However, this week, they reduced their purchases as prices increased,” said Ashok Jain, proprietor of Mumbai-based gold wholesaler Chenaji Narsinghji.
This week, Indian dealers charged a premium of up to $3 an ounce over official domestic prices – inclusive of 6% import and 3% sales levies – down from last week’s premium of $16.
“The sudden rebound in global prices and the depreciation of the rupee to a record low drove up local prices. This confused buyers and prompted them to wait for a correction,” said a Mumbai-based dealer with a private bullion importing bank.
International spot gold prices were headed for their best week in a year on Friday, supported by safe-haven demand. [GOL/]
Despite gold futures set for the weekly gain amid the heightened tensions of the Russia-Ukraine war, trading activity in China remains soft, said Hugo Pascal, a precious metals trader at InProved.
“Premiums continue to oscillate between positive and negative territory, showing no clear directional trend.”
Dealers in China, the world’s top consumer of the metal, were charging a premium of up to $10 an ounce to a discount of $6/oz this week, Pascal said..
In Japan, bullion was sold at par to $0.5 premium, unchanged from last week, while traders in Singapore sold it between a $1.20 and $2.20 premium.
A lot of people have decided to take a backseat since gold seems to be in a bullish state at this point, said Brian Lan, managing director at GoldSilver Central.
(Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav in Mumbai and Rahul Paswan in Bengaluru; Editing by Eileen Soreng)
