Gold eases after rising, physical buying muted

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Indian gold eased on Tuesday, after rising for a couple of sessions in line with global markets, though physical demand remained muted ahead of a key gold buying festival amid lower supplies.

* India, the world's biggest buyer of the metal, will celebrate Akshaya Tritiya next week, the second-biggest gold buying festival after Dhanteras. Weddings have also started and will continue until July.

* At 5:02 pm, the actively traded gold for June delivery on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) was 0.59 percent lower at 26,937 rupees per 10 grams, after gaining more than a percent in the previous two sessions.

* A stronger rupee kept the upside in prices limited. The rupee plays an important role in determining the landed cost of the dollar-quoted yellow metal.

* Global gold eased, losing its shine as an alternative investment after stock markets rallied on hopes of a steady U.S. recovery.

* "Demand has slowed and even traders are cautious ahead of announcement by the RBI (Reserve Bank of India)... There is a shortfall in supply due to demand from China, Turkey, U.A.E," said Prithviraj Kothari, director with RSBL Bullions, a wholesaler in Mumbai.

* Premiums charged on London prices were at $7-8 an ounce on Tuesday.

* The RBI could restrict the import of gold on consignment basis by banks only to meet the genuine needs of exporters of gold jewellery in late May, governor D. Subbarao said in the monetary policy statement on May 3.

* Silver for July delivery on the MCX was 1.21 percent lower at 44,620 rupees per kilogram.

* The following were prices of gold and silver in rupees as of 1.15 p.m. local time in the spot market, quoted by Punjab National Bank:

Tuesday Monday

(Reporting by Siddesh Mayenkar; Editing by Anupama Dwivedi)