MUMBAI: Indian gold retail consumers thronged shops to sell old gold ornaments as prices moved above 13,500 rupees per 10 grams, seeking to recycle their jewellery, limiting demand for new bars, traders said.
"We are getting the best price for our jewellery," said Rajesh Patel, a Mumbai-based cloth merchant, standing in the queue to sell jewellery. He had bought them 2-3 decades ago.
"We would buy it again when prices come down," Patel added.
Gold futures on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) rose to their highest in almost three months at 13,790 rupees per 10 grams, up 30 percent from a year-ago.
People have been selling gold ever since prices hit a high of around 13,800 rupees on Dec. 29, said Vasantbhai M. Choksi, a scrap gold buyer at Mumbai's renowned gold market, Zaveri Bazaar.
On Wednesday, the benchmark February contract traded at 13,420 rupees per 10 grams, down by 22 rupees.
Some sellers were those who bought gold recently at lower levels and were taking profits, said Daman Prakash, director at Chennai-based MNC Bullion Pvt Ltd., a wholesale gold trader.
Bulk exchange of gold (old for new) increased after prices rose above 13,500 rupees, said an official with Prince Jewellery showroom in Trivandrum.