Mumbai: India's gold imports in October declined to 40.18 tn from 57.05 tn a year ago, according to data from Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics.
Despite Dhanteras and Diwali falling late October, gold demand remained muted during the month due to high gold prices. Spot prices of gold in Mumbai were at around 38,600 rupees per 10 gm on Dhanteras, which was on Oct 25, up over 21% on year.
In value terms, gold imports in October were at $1.84 bln compared with $1.79 bln a year ago. Imports of silver plunged to 170.22 tn in October from 916.66 tn a year ago. In value terms, they were down 81% at $95.65 mln.
For Apr-Oct, India's gold imports fell 21% on year to 460.21 tn, while silver imports were down 7% to 4,269.98 tn.
The World Gold Council has trimmed its outlook for India's gold demand in 2019 to 700-750 tn from 750-850 tn projected in its earlier reports. India's gold demand stood at 760 tn in 2018.
"Gold prices would probably need to correct noticeably to kick-start gold demand in any significant fashion," a report by Commerzbank AG said.
