By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Premiums for gold bars have
jumped as much as 33 percent in the past week after a drop in
bullion prices spurred buying from jewellers across Asia, forcing
dealers to scramble for supplies, industry sources said on
Wednesday.
The marriage season in India encouraged buying from jewellers
in the world's largest consumer, while investors in Thailand and
Japan entered the market after gold sank to an 11-month low
before paring losses on a rebound in oil.
Spot gold <XAU=> traded around $773.85 an ounce, down from
late New York levels, but off Wednesday's intraday lows of
$762.55 an ounce. Bullion is well below a record high of
$1,030.80 struck in March.
"A key fact noticeable from the physical markets is the high
premium for physical gold deliveries. There is a minimum delay of
about one week to 10 days from date of purchase of bullion bars,"
said Pradeep Unni, senior research analyst at Richcomm Global
Services DMCC in Dubai.
"In the coming months there are a host of festivals lining up
in Middle East and in India. This should support gold from any
major slide," he said.
Premiums for gold bars in Hong Kong rose to this year's high
of $2 an ounce to the spot London prices from $1.80 last week. In
Tokyo, retail investors and the electronics sector chased
premiums up to $1 from 75 U.S. cents last week. <GOLD/ASIA1>.
India is stepping up purchases during the festive season
which peaks in October with Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights.
Many weddings take place during the festive season, and gold
jewellery forms an important part of dowry as parents prefer to
give gold to their daughters for financial security. Dealers also
noted buying from Indonesia ahead of the Ed al-Fitr Muslim
festival in October.
"Seasonal demand is not over yet. Speculators may want to
push down gold prices to $750 but there seems to be support from
physical buying," said a dealer in Hong Kong.
"Supply of gold bars is tight everywhere. Gold has come down
so much and people have been buying at the lows. That's why
there's a shortage in gold bars," he said.
Goldhas slipped more than 20 percent since hitting a
four-month high of $987.75 in mid-July after a recovery in the
U.S. dollar and declines in oil prompted speculators to ditch
some of their holdings and shift to currencies and stocks.
"I don't have new stocks, so I am still quoting premiums at
$1.50 but I am sure it's also being offered by others at $2,"
said a dealer in Singapore.
"We've got buying from usual customers such as Indonesia and
Thailand. India is not in the market yet but I am sure we are
going to see demand from them later today," he said.
(Editing by Ben Tan)
(([email protected];+65 6870 3834; Reuters Messaging:
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* Subscribers can view <GOLD/ASIA1> for prices in Asia
Keywords: GOLD/PHYSICAL