After falling three straight months, gold imports surge 37% in December

According to the World Gold Council, Indian consumers probably bought 650-750 tons of the metal last year

Gold imports by India, the world’s second-biggest market after China, surged 37 per cent in December after falling for three straight months, according to a person familiar with the data.

Inward shipments increased to 77.7 metric tons from 56.9 tons a year ago, the person said, asking not to be named as the information isn’t public. In value terms, purchases rose 39.8 per cent to Rs 176.7 billion ($2.8 billion). Finance Ministry spokesman D S Malik declined to comment.

The data is the latest sign that Asia’s No. 3 economy is recovering from a new consumption tax implemented in July, which had