Gold prices recover on weaker rupee

Customers check gold rings inside a gold jewellery showroom in Kochi April 16, 2012.

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Gold importers in India stayed away from new deals even as the wedding season started after a weaker rupee helped prices to recover partly from their lowest level in a month.

* The wedding season in India, the world's biggest buyer of gold, started this week and will continue until May. Festivals also take place during this period.

* "The physical market is not very good as rupee is up... we are expecting good business as rupee should appreciate," said a dealer with a state-run bullion importing bank in Mumbai.

* India witnessed a huge surge in imports of gold in the first week of January, when the finance minister hinted at a hike in import duty from the current 4 percent.

* The most-active gold contract for February delivery on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) was 0.13 percent higher at 30,621 rupees per 10 grams at 0823 GMT, recovering from their low of 30,530 rupees, a level last seen on December 20 helped by a weaker rupee.

* The rupee, which traded weaker on Monday, plays an important role in determining the landed cost of the dollar-quoted yellow metal.

* In the overseas market, gold inched up to reverse losses from the previous session, bolstered by expectations for aggressive monetary easing from the Bank of Japan.

* Silver for March delivery .on the MCX was 0.31 percent higher at 59,563 rupees per kg.

(Reporting by Siddesh Mayenkar; Editing by G.Ram Mohan)