Mumbai — India’s gold imports in March halved from a year ago to 52.5 tonnes as a rally in local prices to a 16-month high slashed demand in the world’s second-biggest consumer of bullion, provisional data from precious metals consultancy GFMS and bank dealers showed. The drop in purchases by India could weigh on global prices, which are still up nearly 8% from a mid-December trough, despite dropping back from a 17-month high hit at the end of January. Lower gold imports could help the South Asian country reduce its trade deficit, which hit a five-month low in February. "Higher prices and weak demand from rural areas squeezed imports," said Sudheesh Nambiath, a senior analyst with GFMS, a division of Thomson Reuters, on Monday. Two-thirds of India’s gold demand comes from rural areas, where jewellery is a traditional store of wealth. Farmers were getting lower returns from winter-sown crops due to lower than normal monsoon rains, Nambiath said. Local gold prices jumped to their high...
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