INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The country's gold imports plunged 41 per cent in February from a year earlier as a rally in local prices to a record high squeezed retail
demand, a government source said on Tuesday.The world's second-biggest consumer of gold imported 46 tonnes in February, compared with 77.64
tonnes a year earlier, the source said on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to media.In value terms, February imports
totalled $2.36 billion, down from $2.58 billion a year earlier, he said.In the first half of February demand was modest but it faltered as
prices started rallying from mid-February, said a Mumbai-based dealer with a bullion importing bank.Gold futures in India hit a record high
of Rs 43,788 per 10 grams in February after rising nearly a quarter in 2019.The weak demand forced dealers to offer as much $14 an ounce
discount over official domestic prices in February, the most since mid-October
The domestic price includes a 12.5 per cent import tax and 3 per cent sales tax.The Gem - Jewellery Export Promotion Council's exhibition,
where jewellers display their designs to buyers, witnessed a lower-than normal response in February due to a drop in overseas buyers, said a
Mumbai-based jeweller.India's gold imports could fall below 35 tonnes in March as prices are still elevated, said another Mumbai-based
dealer with a gold importing bank, which would mark a drop from last year's 93.24 tonnes."Retail demand is very weak
It is unlikely to improve unless we see a meaningful correction in the prices," the dealer said.
