Low international gold prices have sparked increased buying by India, the world's biggest consumer, in the run-up to a series of Hindu festivals, traders said on Monday. Gold imports through India's western city of Ahmedabad rose sharply to 25.274 tonnes in August from 14.811 tonnes in the previous month, industry officials said. About 30 to 40 per cent of Indian gold imports come through Ahmedabad, the country's main gold importing centre. In August 1998, imports through Ahmedabad were 13.89 tonnes.

``Imports are usually very low in August, but this year there was an increase because investors and traders bought in advance due to low prices,'' said trader Girish Kumar of Chokshi Mahajan, of Bullion Merchants' Association. Gold is still the most preferred investment in largely rural India, where it is traditionally given as a gift at weddings and festivals.

Demand for gold rises in the main festival season, which begins in September and peaks in earlyNovember, during Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights. Some traders said the unexpected jump in August imports could limit future imports, but any further weakness in global prices would push up demand.

``The strong imports last month would mean that people are keeping stocks in hand for the festival season,'' said one trader at state-run Corporation Bank, a leading gold importer.

HK spot gold ends higher

Hong Kong spot gold ended higher in quiet, holiday trading on Monday after physical demand and Japanese buying provided support. Gold bullion ended at US$254.90-255.40 per ounce on Monday compared to New York's previous close at US$254.00-50 on Friday. ``On a quiet day like this, a little bit of Asian demand is enough to give gold support,'' a trader said. Gold also rose early on Japanese buying after a fall in the dollar/yen rate, which is viewed as encouraging demand. With the US market closed for Labor Day, trading in Europe was expected to remain quiet on Monday and the price likely to stayin the US$253.50-256.50 range of the past week, traders said.

The market was on hold amid continuing uncertainty about IMF gold sales and the approach of Britain's second sale of 25 tonnes of gold reserves scheduled for September 21, traders said. Lifting of hedges by Australian producers to take profits was possible given the price of gold in Australian dollars, a Sydney trader said.

Asia's palm oil market

Asia's palm oil market is awaiting fresh fundamental news and currency movements to determine the trend in the coming week, traders said. August output, stock and export figures from Malaysian private forecaster Ivan Wong are likely early in the week and could help determine the Malaysian fundamental outlook.``There was a lot of speculation going on last week, but for this week, we expect some fresh forecasts of August crop from Ivan,'' said a trading manager in Kuala Lumpur. Last week, cargo surveyor Societe Generale de Surveillance Malaysia Sdn Bhd (SGS) said Malaysia's palm oil exports wereestimated at 1.0 million tonnes in August, compared with 815,103 tonnes in July. SGS said that India was the biggest buyer of Malaysian palm oil for August, taking 325,391 tonnes, followed by China which bought 137,749 tonnes.

Traders expect the local export market to slow down from next month as the Indians have already bought sufficient for the coming festival in November. From the technical point of view, a chartist said that Malaysia's benchmark third month November futures contract is expected to trade in the range of 1,250 and 1,320 ringgit. The contract closed last week at 1,270 ringgit. In Indonesia, prices were expected to strengthen. ``The exchange rate will be our main focus of attention,'' said a trader.

Goat salted prices improve

Goat salted prices improved on the local leather market in New Delhi on Monday following fresh demand coupled with restricted arrivals. Goat salted price in raw section move up from Rs 55-60 to close at Rs 60-65.

The following are raw leather prices perinch in Rs: Goat salted 30x40'' Rs.60-65, unsalted Rs30''x40'' 80-85 sheep salted 32''x40 '' Rs 140-145 and unsalted 32''x40'' 185-190.Treated leather price per sq dm: Goat suede 4.50-6.50 or 5.00 lot, goat napa 2.50-3.50 or 3.00 lot, sheep napa 3.00-5.50 or 4.50 lot.