Asia Gold-Demand remains muted in key Asian hubs
Price rally nearly wiped out impact of India's import duty cut
Swiss August gold exports show no supplies to China
This week we saw more selling than buying - Tokyo-based trader
By Rajendra Jadhav and Ashitha Shivaprasad
Sept 20 (Reuters) -Gold demand in India slightly improved this week but remained far below the normal level as prices were trading near a record high, while China discounts widened.
In India, the world's second-largest gold consumer and a major importer, domestic prices MAUc1 were ruling around 73,600 rupees per 10 grams, not far from the all-time high of 74,731 rupees hit in July.
"Demand was modest for two days, but it lost momentum again as prices rebounded to near-record levels," a bullion dealer in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad said.
Indian dealers offered a discount XAU-IN-PREM of up to $17 an ounce over official domestic prices this week – inclusive of 6% import and 3% sales levies, down from last week's $22 discount.
The rally in global prices has nearly wiped out the impact of India's reduction in import duty, and once again, retail buyers have become uncomfortable with prices, a Mumbai-based dealer with a private bullion importing bank said. GOL/
Top consumer China refrained from gold imports from Switzerland in August, for the first time since January 2021, customs data from the world's biggest bullion refining and transit hub showed.
Chinese dealers XAU-CN-PREM widened discounts to $12-$14 over global spot prices compared with last week's $8.6-$10 discount. In Hong Kong bullion was sold between a $1 discount and a $0.6 premium.
The demand story in China remains dull and there is continued weakness in wholesale demand in Hong Kong, Hugo Pascal, precious metals trader at InProved, said.
In Japan, gold was sold XAU-TK-PREM at a $1 discount, and it was a week of more selling than buying, a Tokyo-based trader said.
"Price sensitivity in the Asian region has returned and from buyers' inaction, they seem to be saying that gold is currently overpriced," independent analyst Ross Norman said.
Singapore was an exception this week, with some retail consumers buying the precious metal in anticipation of even higher prices. Dealers there charged premiums XAU-SG-PREM between $1 and $2.20.
Reporting by Ashitha Shivaprasad in Bengaluru and Rajendra Jadhav in Mumbai; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala
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