Physical gold premiums in India rose to more than four-month highs this week as demand picked up, with jewellers stocking up for the wedding season, though activity was muted in other trading hubs due to the Lunar New Year holidays.
Gold prices in India were trading around 61,600 rupees per 10 grams on Friday after hitting a record high of 65,040 rupees earlier this month.
“Many buyers were on the sidelines, waiting for the prices to come down. As prices corrected, they started making purchases,” said Harshad Ajmera, proprietor of JJ Gold House, a wholesaler in Kolkata.
As a result, dealers hiked premiums to up to $3.5 an ounce over official domestic prices — inclusive of 15% import and 3% sales levies — from last week’s premium of up to $2.
Jewellers have started placing orders as customer interest picks up heading into the wedding season, a Mumbai-based bullion dealer with a private bank said. Weddings are a major driver of gold purchases in India.
Markets in top consumer China were closed this week for the long Lunar New Year holidays and will reopen next week.
Asia gold: Price dip fails to attract Indian buyers, Chinese demand up for New Year
“Traders will be closely monitoring Beijing for further policy signals, particularly regarding potential interest rate cuts and increased gold import quotas,” said Bernard Sin, regional director of Greater China at MKS PAMP.
In Singapore, gold sales ranged from at par with global spot prices to a $3.00 premium.
Most businesses and retail clients were on leave for the early part of this week, but when spot prices dipped below $2,000 an ounce, there was a lot of short covering and wholesale purchases, said Brian Lan at Singapore dealer GoldSilver Central.
In Hong Kong, premiums of $1.00-$3.50 per ounce were quoted, while gold changed hands at $0.5- $1 premiums in Japan.
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