INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
MUMBAI/BENGALURU, April 13 (Reuters) - Physical gold demand in second-biggest consumer India saw an uptick this week ahead of a key
festival, although higher prices weighed on sentiment across the broader Asian markets.
Next week Indians will be celebrating the annual
festival of Akshaya Tritiya, when buying gold is considered auspicious.
"Many potential buyers were on the sidelines
They started buying after prices jumped," said a Mumbai-based dealer with a private gold importing bank.
In the Indian market, gold futures
were trading at around 31,041 rupees per 10 grams
Prices hit 31,562 on Wednesday, their highest since August 2016.
"Akshay Tritiya is just around the corner but footfalls are still
significantly lower than usual," said Fatechand Ranka, a jeweller based at Pune, in western state of Maharashtra, adding "it is forcing
industry players to give discounts on jewellery- making charges."
Dealers in India were offering a discount of up to $2 an ounce over
official domestic prices this week, down from $3 last week
The domestic price includes a 10 percent import tax.
India's gold imports in March halved from a year ago to 52.5 tonnes as a rally in local
prices to 16-month high slashed demand, provisional data from precious metals consultancy GFMS and bank dealers showed.
Meanwhile, appetite
for physical gold in other Asian centres remained muted as high bullion prices kept most buyers on a wait-and-see mode.
Spot gold was up 0.4
percent at $1,340.86 per ounce at 0948 GMT, and was set for a second weekly gain
Prices had touched a 11-week high of $1,365.23 on Wednesday.
"Prices have been on the higher end.
The market hasn't changed too much in China," said Ronald Leung, chief dealer at Lee Cheong Gold Dealers in Hong Kong.
Premiums in top
consumer China ranged between $6 to $8, little changed from last week.
"The stock market is more attractive than the gold market at the
moment," added Leung.
In Hong Kong premiums were at 50 cents to 60 cents, while in Singapore premiums rose to 70 cents from 40-50 cents the
previous week.
Gold continued to be sold at par with the global benchmark in Japan, which saw more sellers of the yellow metal this week, a
