Asia Gold-Low prices spark flurry of activity in India

SouthGobi Resources

26/02/2021 14:18

* China premiums between $3-$7/oz amid muted activity
    * Chinese net gold imports via Hong Kong fall in January 
    * Indian jewellers aggressively building inventory- dealer

    By Rajendra Jadhav and Shreyansi Singh
    Feb 26 (Reuters) - Physical gold demand in India gained
momentum this week as retail buyers and jewellers lapped up
bullion at near eight-month low prices, while Singapore
continued to see steady interest for both gold and silver.
     Gold futures  MAUc1  in India were trading around 46,000
rupees per 10 grams, not far from the eight-month trough of
45,861 rupees touched last week.
     "Consumers are quite comfortable with current price level.
There is good demand for jewellery from retail buyers," said
Harshad Ajmera, the proprietor of JJ Gold House, a wholesaler in
the city of Kolkata.
     He added the 50,000-rupee mark is a psychological price
barrier for Indian consumers.
    Dealers charged premiums of about $4 an ounce over official
domestic prices, inclusive of 12.5% import and 3% sales levies,
versus last week's $7 premium, which was an eight-month
peak.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2K70TY 
    Jewellers are aggressively building inventory as prices are
attractive and retail demand is robust, said a Mumbai-based
dealer with a bullion importing bank.
    In Singapore, premiums of $1.4-$2 an ounce were charged 
amid firm demand. 
    "We've seen a little more buying from wholesale and also
retail especially after the Lunar new year," said Brian Lan,
managing director at dealer GoldSilver Central, adding interest
for silver remained elevated.
    Suppliers have flagged delayed deliveries for gold and
silver due to physical shortages developing in the global
market, said Vincent Tie, sales manager at another Singapore
dealer, Silver Bullion. 
    In traditional top consumer China, activity was muted by
COVID-19-related restrictions during the usually busy holiday
period, dealers said, with premiums of around $3-$7 an ounce
over benchmark spot gold prices  XAU= .
    China's net gold imports via Hong Kong fell in January as
the restrictions dimmed market activity.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2KV0UJ
    In Hong Kong, dealers sold bullion at anywhere between on
par with the benchmark to a $1 premium. Japanese dealers charged
 a premium of $0.50.
    
    

 (Reporting by Shreyansi Singh and K. Sathya Narayanan in
Bengaluru and Rajendra Jadhav in Mumbai; editing by Arpan
Varghese and Amy Caren Daniel)
 ((Shreyansi.Singh@thomsonreuters.com; +91 8061823666/3590 (If
within U.S. call +1 646 223 8780); Reuters Messaging:
Shreyansi.Singh@thomsonreuters.com))