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Asia Gold-Indian dealerships provide discount rates; China sees seasonally soft demand

Physical gold was cost a discount in India for the very first time in 6 weeks, as a weaker rupee drove up costs and in turn moderated demand, while top consumer China saw seasonally sluggish demand.

Domestic prices in India rose to 76,800 rupees per 10 grams on Friday after falling to 74,852 rupees earlier last week.

Jewellers were not making purchases as the rupee fell to a. record low, making imports a lot more pricey, stated a. Mumbai-based dealership with a personal bullion importing bank.

The rupee dropped to a life time low of 84.7575. versus the U.S. dollar today.

Indian dealers offered a discount rate << XAU-IN-PREM > of up to $2. an ounce over main domestic rates, inclusive of 6% import. and 3% sales levies, below last week's premium of up to $3.

Retail need was quite low today. Wedding event season is. going on, however lots of purchasers seem to be holding back, awaiting. rates to drop, said a New Delhi-based jeweller.

Wedding events are a significant chauffeur of gold purchases in India.

On the other hand, Chinese consumers remained very carefully downhearted. toward gold, said Hugo Pascal, a precious metals trader at. InProved, including that he does not see a boost in demand as. December tends to be a sluggish month, while volume starts to. get in January.

Dealers in China were providing discount rates of in between $11-$ 15. per ounce on international area gold costs, compared with last. week's $19-$ 21 discount rate. << XAU-CN-PREM >.

This suggests ample supply and possibly weaker domestic. demand. The high evaluation of gold in Renminbi may likewise be. contributing to this trend, stated Bernard Sin, local director. of Greater China at MKS PAMP.

Traders in Singapore offered gold at $1.20-$ 2.25 premiums,. while in Hong Kong, gold was sold at $1.40-$ 2.50 premiums. << XAU-HK-PREM >.

In Japan, gold rates << XAU-TK-PREM > were flat against local. London rates, a trader stated.

(source: Reuters)