India’s gold import likely to remain record high in first quarter of FY14: WCG

31 May 2013 Evaluate

As per the World Gold Council (WGC), India’s gold import in April to June quarter of 2013 may increase by 200 percent y-o-y to around 300-400 tonnes, which would be almost half the imports of whole of 2012. As per WCG, purchasing behaviour has been extremely strong in India due to fall in yellow metal price in April and indicated sustained demand over 2013.

In April, the value of gold imports stood at $7.5 billion, more than double from a year earlier. While, in quantity terms, the actual imports were 100-120 tonnes, higher than the average monthly import level of 70-80 tonnes. Strong demand of gold has become a worried factor for Indian policymakers as the country is facing a record current account deficit (CAD), partly stoked by Indian consumers’ appetite for the yellow metal. The CAD widened to a record high of 6.7% in the third quarter of FY13. 

However, to curb the gold import, the government has taken several steps recently, including raising import duty. Further, the RBI too had put restrictions on banks on gold imports, which has led to forex outflow. It is expected that the government may further increase the import duty on gold, or limit the quantum of imports by state-run agencies.

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