Friday, May 24th 10:34 AM IST

Weak rupee makes gold costlier, demand falls

Jul 4, 2012

Mumbai: Gold prices in India, one of the world’s leading consumers, edged higher today on a weak rupee, keeping demand muted as there was not any festival in the short-term to lure buyers.

The most-active gold contract for August delivery on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) was up 0.31 percent at Rs 29,563 per 10 grams by 6pm.

Getting costlier. Reuters

The rupee, which closed down 0.2 percent on Wednesday, plays an important role in determining the landed cost of the dollar-quoted yellow metal.

International gold held near two-week highs on Wednesday and was set for its second successive weekly gain, thanks to a modest decline in the dollar that may sharpen investor appetite for the metal.

“Buyers are not comfortable with the current price. Jewellers, investors all are waiting for correction,” said a Mumbai-based dealer with a private bank dealing in bullion.

“And no one is in a hurry. The wedding season is almost over. There is no festival in the short term.”

Poor rainfall in most parts of the country is also weighing on sentiments as monsoon rains are vital to incomes in rural areas, which contribute to 60 percent of gold imports, dealers said.

Reuters

Firstpost encourages open discussion and debate, but please adhere to the rules below, before posting. Comments that are found to be in violation of any one or more of the guidelines will be automatically deleted:

Personal attacks/name calling will not be tolerated. This applies to comments directed at the author, other commenters and other politicians/public figures

Please do not post comments that target a specific community, caste, nationality or religion.

While you do not have to use your real name, any commenters using any Firstpost writer's name will be deleted, and the commenter banned from participating in any future discussions.

Comments will be moderated for abusive and offensive language.

Please read our comments and moderation policy before posting