RTRS; India trade body says no gold imports so far in Feb
Gold purchases by India, the world's largest importer of the metal, are on course to fall for the second month in a row with no imports so far in February because of high prices, the head of a trade body said on Friday.
"Forget imports, whatever sale has happened, has happened from old stocks imported earlier," said Suresh Hundia, president of the Bombay Bullion Association.
Gold imports in January plummeted 89 percent to 1.9 tonnes from 18 tonnes in the same month last year, he said.
Domestic prices in India have been hitting record highs over the past few weeks, as a weaker rupee added to the rise in world gold prices denominated in dollars.
On Thursday, gold touched an all-time high of 14,824 rupees ($304) per 10 grams on the Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd (MCX) MAUc1. Prices softened on Friday to 14,570 rupees per 10 grams by around 1030 GMT, as foreign markets slipped after topping $950 an ounce the previous day.
