Stubbornly high prices of gold is expected to make another dent in India's import of the precious metal, head of the Bombay Bullion Association (BBA) was quoted as saying on Monday. Gold imports in June are likely to fall by 75% from 29.9 tons a year ago, Suresh Hundia, president of the BBA was quoted as saying.
The estimate is provisional and actual figures would be released in a few days.
Gold imports declined by over 50% to 17 tons in May as compared to 34.2 tons in April due to surge in gold prices, according to the BBA data.
India's front month gold futures on the Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd. (MCX) touched an all-time high of Rs19,198 per 10 grams on June 8, marking a 32% rise on year. Spot gold prices in India touched a high of Rs18,629 per 10 grams in May.
In global markets, the most-actively traded contract, for August delivery, rose US$10.30, or 0.8%, to settle at US$1,256.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange on Friday.
Data showed that holdings in the 19 physically backed gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) Barclays Capital tracks have set another record at 2,084 metric tons.
Gold prices have been soaring in the past few weeks as the lingering concerns over the euro-zone debt crisis coupled with the uncertainty over global economic recovery have sent global investors scurrying for safe havens such as the yellow metal and the US dollar.