Gold rises on signs of demand from China; silver drops

London, May 8. Gold today rose for the first time in three days on signs of increasing physical demand from India and China, the world's largest consumers. Gold rose 0.1 per cent to USD 1,454.68 an ounce, after declining 1.2 per cent in last two days. However, silver slumped 0.4 per cent to USD 23.867 an ounce. Gold imports by China from Hong Kong more than doubled to an all-time high in March, a government data showed. India's purchases are set to exceed 100 tonnes for a second month in May as jewellers demand picked up. Gold has rebounded about 10 per cent since reaching a two-year low in mid-April on demand for gold jewelry and coins. Buyers in mainland China purchased 223,519 kilograms (223.52 tons) of gold in March, including scrap, compared with 97,106 kilograms in February, Hong Kong government data said. Holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust, the biggest bullion-backed exchange-traded product, declined 0.4 per cent to 1,057.79 tons, the lowest since March 2009. Gold tumbled 13 per cent this year as equities rallied and some investors lost faith in the metal as a store of value.