Demand for physical gold in major Asian hubs weakened this week as rates soared, with prices in India zooming past the psychologically important 100,000-rupee mark and prompting dealers to offer steep discounts to attract buyers.
Indian dealers quoted discounts of up to USD 63 an ounce over official domestic prices – the highest in seven weeks, inclusive of 6 per cent import and 3 per cent sales levies, up from as much as USD 56 last week.
“Demand is as good as dead. Buyers think the price rise is temporary and are waiting for a correction,” said Ashok Jain, proprietor of Mumbai-based gold wholesaler Chenaji Narsinghji.
Domestic prices were hovering around 100,000 rupees per 10 grams on the day after hitting an all-time high of 100,403 rupees earlier in the session.
“Suddenly, the rupee is falling and gold prices are rising because of geopolitical tensions. This has confused jewellers, who are on the sidelines,” said a Mumbai-based bullion dealer with a private bank.
In top gold consumer China, premiums of USD 8-USD 14 an ounce were charged over the global benchmark spot price, compared with premiums of USD 10-USD 14 an ounce last week.
“Demand for gold has been tempered in both Hong Kong and China over the last number of weeks. We are going into a seasonally quiet period and that has been reflected in the physical premiums,” said Joseph Stefans, Head of Trading at MKS PAMP.
In Hong Kong, gold changed hands at par to a USD 1.70 premium, while in Singapore , gold traded between at-par prices and a USD 2.50 premium.
“We are seeing some selling as compared to last week from the retail side because of the rise in prices. On the wholesale side also it is quiet,” said Brian Lan, managing director at Singapore-based GoldSilver Central.
In Japan, bullion was sold at par to a premium of USD 0.50 over spot prices.
