Asia Gold-China buying picks up to dodge year-end supply crunch
on the Multi Commodity Exchange bounced from a one-month low of 30,710 rupees per 10 grams hit last week, and was trading at 31,349 rupees.
"If prices fall to 31,000 rupees there could be good wedding demand for another month and a half," Pankaj Kumar Agarwal, director at Brijwasi Bullion and Jewellers in the northern Indian city of Lucknow.
The wedding season, which started in September and peaked last month, continues until early January. Gold is an essential gift item during this season in India, the world's biggest buyer of the metal.
Spot gold traded around $1,710 an ounce, rebounding from a one-month low of $1,683.79 hit last week.
In Southeast Asia, dealers reported a pick up in demand from Thailand and Indonesia as market players tried to avoid the supply crunch in the end of the year.
"We see buying from Thailand, and Indonesia which has been absent from the market for a while," said a Singapore-based dealer.
The premiums in Singapore were quoted in the range of 70 cents to $1, dealers said.
In Japan, the discount on gold bars narrowed to 50 cents from 75 cents last week, said a Tokyo-based trader.
"We haven't seen much gold selling in recent days," said the trader. "Some manufacturers are purchasing gold to stock up their products before the New Year holidays, so the discount is tighter now."
WEEK AHEAD
Market players will watch the U.S. budget talks and the resurfacing political turmoil in Italy, key factors that will affect gold prices in coming weeks.
Refineries will start to shut down
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