China to remain world's top gold consumer

Relaxing import regulations in China will continue to push the country to buy more gold than India, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing data released by World Gold Council on Thursday. Indian consumer demand for gold, until recently the world’s strongest, was undermined by a slide in the rupee’s value and import curbs, which pushed domestic prices to near-record levels. It slumped by 32% to 148.2 metric tons in the July-September period compared with a year earlier, while demand in China rose by 18% to 209.6 tons, it said in a report.