MUMBAI: Physical traders of gold moved to the sidelines as prices trimmed earlier losses to trade flat after the rupee tumbled to its record low, dealers said on Tuesday.
* The most-active gold for February delivery on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) reversed losses from a low of Rs 28,780 to trade almost unchanged from the previous close.
* The rupee, which slumped to an all-time low on Tuesday, plays an important role in determining the landed cost of the dollar-quoted yellow metal.
* Wedding season demand has tapered off and will re-start in mid-January to last through March. Premiums stayed steady at about $1 an ounce.
* "Demand is very poor because of the rupee," said Mayank Khemka, managing director, Khemka International. Khemka expects a 30-40 percent decline in imports compared to last year's imports of more than 281 tonnes.
* Traders said silver buying also backed off as traders had seen lower levels earlier and prefer to wait for a correction.
* "Silver is also poor because of the rupee thing. People had seen Rs 50,000 or below, so current levels are not attractive for them," said Khemka.
