The gold premiums in India have declined to almost half in the absence of announcement of import curbs on fresh gold. The premiums for physical delivery of gold which had surged to $25 an ounce in anticipation of policy announcement have now fallen by almost half to $13 levels. The measures for the import curbs had already been formulated and the announcement could be expected any time. However, the government has not come up with any announcement so far.
Market participants had forecast tighter norms on gold imports following sudden surge in gold imports in September and October, of 98 tonnes and 113 tonnes, respectively. The import bill for these two months was $7.93 billion, which had raised fears of fresh curbs that in turn took the gold premium to as high as $25 per ounce. The gold imports continued to remain strong in November, on account of higher demand during ongoing wedding season.