Mumbai: Gold buyers in the country ignored the wedding season and postponed purchases as they grappled with never-before prices, traders and dealers said. The flow of scrap gold gained more momentum, they added.
"Nobody is interested in buying," said Daman Prakash, director with Chennai-based wholesaler, MNC Bullion, adding that inventories in warehouses have piled up.
The benchmark April gold contract was 2.72 percent higher at Rs 15,107 per 10 grams at 1340 hrs IST, after hitting an all-time high of Rs 15,135 per 10 grams earlier on safe haven purchases and a weak rupee. Indian gold is expected to coast to Rs 16,000 after last week's stretch of record-making highs, as heavy safe-haven buying overseas showed the peak has yet to come.
"People have lost interest in gold at such high prices," said Pinakin Vyaas chief manager - treasury with IndusInd Bank. India gold purchases have slowed to a trickle ever since prices moved above the $900-mark internationally and Rs 13,500 locally.
Gold purchases by India 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.
The flow of scrap gold intensified after a two-day lull as prices rose above the psychological Rs 15,000-rupees-mark. "People who were supposed to buy are selling in the middle of the wedding season," said IndusInd's Vyaas.
"There are people standing outside to sell old gold," said Kapil Kumar Chokshi, a partner at Chokshi Arvind Jewellers in Mumbai's Zaveri Bazaar. "We are expecting (more such) people to arrive by this evening," he said.
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