Gold futures hit new high on IMF sale

By Ruchira Singh

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Indian gold futures soared to a record on Tuesday after the country bought 200 tonnes of gold from the International Monetary Fund, but high prices dampened physical demand in the world's largest consumer of the metal.

The purchase, bigger than India's total imports so far this year, may help Indian consumers accept a higher price for gold, analysts said.

Traders said volatility-averse Indians would wait for prices to fall in a stable range, before resuming their purchases for weddings.

"Consumers are not in a hurry to buy. They will wait for 15,800-16,200 rupees ($336-$345) per 10 grams," said Pinakin Vyas, assistant vice president - treasury at IndusInd Bank in Mumbai.

Earlier, traders and dealers had said the level Indians were watching to buy was around 15,500 rupees.

The IMF said on Monday it sold 200 tonnes of gold to the Reserve Bank of India for $6.7 billion, quietly executing half of a long-planned bullion sale that had threatened to slow gold's rally.

The December contract on the Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd rose to 16,248 rupees ($345.7) per 10 grams, erasing the previous high of 16,173 rupees on Monday.

At around 1120 GMT gold futures traded at 16,223 rupees.