India discounts soar to record high on import duty hike; China premiums firm
Gold discounts in India jumped to a record this week as a sharp import duty hike slowed demand and triggered investor selling, while investment demand kept Chinese premiums firm.
Dealers in India quoted discounts of up to $207 an ounce over official domestic prices this week, inclusive of 15% import and 3% sales levies, up from the previous week's discounts of up to $15/oz and premiums of $6/oz.
The sudden price rise prompted investors to sell, while jewellers and retail buyers stayed on the sidelines, said a jeweller based in Hyderabad.
Earlier this week, India raised import tariffs on gold and silver to 15% from 6%. The world's second-largest consumer of gold also tightened rules for duty-free gold imports for jewellery exports by capping imports at 100 kilograms per licence.
Domestic gold prices in India were trading around 160500 rupees per 10 grams on Friday, after rising to 164497 rupees earlier this week, the highest in more than two months.
Gold discounts jumped to unusually high levels as demand virtually disappeared and scrap supplies increased, said a Mumbai-based bullion dealer.
"Firmer demand from China will likely counter India's weaker demand after the latter's policy changes," ANZ said in a note.
In top consumer China, bullion traded at premiums of $15/oz to $20/oz over the global benchmark price, largely in line with last week's premiums of $14/oz to $20/oz.
Premiums remained steady this week, supported by resilient investment demand and aggressive industrial buying, said Bernard Sin, regional director of Greater China at MKS PAMP.
"Import restrictions remain a key constraint, though loosening is widely anticipated soon. Industrial stockpiling by solar and electronics firms is particularly aggressive, amplified by the removal of VAT (value-added tax) export rebates," he said.
Spot gold prices have declined 2.8% so far in the week, as higher energy prices fuelled inflation concerns and reinforced expectations of prolonged higher interest rates.
In Hong Kong, gold traded at par to premiums of $2, while in Japan, gold was sold at a discount of $0.50. In Singapore, gold was sold at premiums of $1 to $3.30.
