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“People are in a festive mood and traveling, so they are not interested in shopping at these record-high price levels,” said a jeweler based in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata.
Domestic gold prices hit a record high of ₹139,286 ($1,550.34) per 10 grams on Friday following a rise in international spot gold rates. [GOL/]
Spot gold hit an all-time high of $4,530.60 an ounce on speculative and momentum-driven buying as well as expectations of more US rate cuts and rising geopolitical tensions.
This week, Indian dealers were offering discounts of up to $61 an ounce over official domestic prices, including 6% import and 3% sales duties, up from last week’s discounts of up to $37.
“The slowdown in demand is deepening as prices continue to rise. Unless there is a significant improvement in prices, demand is likely to remain subdued for the next few weeks,” said a Mumbai-based bullion dealer with a private bank.
In top consumer China, bullion traded at a discount of $15 to $30 an ounce to the global benchmark spot price, sharply paring last week’s discount to $64, the highest in more than five years.
The sugar discount reached a record high of $87.50 in August 2020 as retail demand declined due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bernard Sin, regional director-Greater China at MKS PAMP, said the discount narrowed despite a slowdown in retail demand as the lack of new import quotas from the People’s Bank of China led to speculative buying at record-high prices amid expectations of a US rate cut and disrupted supply.
The strong yuan also provided support, he said.
In Singapore, gold was sold at premiums ranging from $0.50 to $3.50 an ounce.
“The main buying is done on silver and platinum, not gold. As usual, once we see a rise in gold, that’s when the buy orders come in due to ‘FOMO’,” said Vergel Vilasotto, director of Silver Bullion, referring to the fear of missing out.
In Hong Kong, gold traded at the equivalent of a $2 premium, while in Japan, bullion sold at discounts ranging from a $6.0 to $0.5 premium over spot prices.