Gold Investor

Many gold watchers have been looking towards the newly elected Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and his BJP government, to clarify their stand on legal gold imports into India. Now the Indian central bank (RBI), has already started easing some of the gold import restrictions by allowing an additional seven companies/entities to import gold. Reuters reports:

"The RBI eased tough gold import rules on Wednesday by allowing seven more private agencies to ship the precious metal, a move that industry officials say could augment supplies and reduce premiums in the peak wedding season."

"As a result, more than 20 entities, including state-run banks, private banks and agencies will now be allowed to import the metal. "This is a welcome step as it is some sort of relaxation. Supplies will increase in another 8-10 days and premiums will certainly come down," said Bachhraj Bamalwa, director with All India Gems and Jewellery Trade Federation."Some gold that was routed through illegal channels will now be routed legally."

Legal gold imports could see a sharp rise from their current 20 tons per month run rate. Some estimates state that an additional 10-15 tons of gold may now be imported into India to meet the ongoing, strong demand for gold jewelry and bars/coins. This may well end their war on gold.