Asia Gold-Discounts in India soar to near nine-year high, Chinese premiums jump

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Premiums of $44-$50/oz charged in China this week

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Spot gold prices broke through the $3,500/oz mark on Tuesday

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India discounts jump to a near nine-year high

By Rajendra Jadhav and Anushree Mukherjee

April 25 (Reuters) - Gold discounts in India jumped this week to the highest level in nearly nine years as record prices deterred buyers, while premiums in China rose to a more than one-year peak, leading to increased shipments to the world's largest bullion consumer.

Indian dealers this week offered a discount of up to $80 an ounce over official domestic prices, inclusive of 6% import and 3% sales levies, the widest discount since July 2016. Last week, the discount was as much as $74.

"Jewellery sales have taken a hit with prices going up. Shoppers aren’t buying like they used to, and jewellers all over the country are feeling the slowdown," said Surendra Mehta, secretary at the India Bullion and Jewellers Association (IBJA).

On Tuesday, spot gold prices broke through the $3,500 an ounce barrier for the first time, and currently traded around $3,333.73 as of 0357 GMT on Friday.

Gold prices in India hit a record high of 99,358($1,167) rupees per 10 grams earlier this week.

Jewellers are not active in the market as they have received fewer advance orders from retail buyers for the Akshaya Tritiya festival, said a Mumbai-based dealer with a private bullion importing bank.

Akshaya Tritiya, the second-biggest gold-buying festival after Dhanteras in India, will be celebrated next week.

In China, dealers charged premiums of $44 to $50 an ounce over global benchmark spot prices, the highest since February 2024. This was a sharp increase from premiums of $15 to $21 last week.

"The premiums in China are extremely healthy... In response to this strong demand, gold is being moved into the region from various global locations," said Joseph Stefans, Group Head of Trading, MKS PAMP.

The surge in demand came despite elevated prices.

In Hong Kong, gold was sold at par to a $2 premium, while in Singapore , gold traded at par with the global benchmark to a premium of up to $2.50 per ounce.

"We've seen prices come off a bit from the high, so we did see a pickup in clients looking to buy," said Brian Lan, managing director at GoldSilver Central.

In Japan, bullion was sold at a discount of $0.25 to a $1.0 premium. ($1 = 85.1100 Indian rupees) (Reporting by Anushree Mukherjee in Bengaluru and Rajendra Jadhav in Mumbai; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)