New Delhi: India`s gold imports surged to about 150 tonnes in October, Bloomberg said in a tweet, a volume that could pressure the government to tighten curbs on shipments of the metal.
A trade ministry spokesman told Reuters he was not aware of the data.
Imports are typically strong around the last quarter of the year as consumers rush to buy gold to celebrate major festivals such as Dhanteras and Diwali.
But inbound shipments in the same month last year reached just 23.5 tonnes after India introduced a series of restrictions to narrow its fiscal deficit including raising the import duty on gold to a record high and permitting only a few banks to bring in the precious metal.
In May this year, India`s central bank eased some of those rules by allowing seven more private agencies to ship in gold.
India`s appetite for gold jumped by more than a third to 225.1 tonnes in the July-Sept quarter, in sharp contrast to the rest of the world, boosted by jewellery demand for the wedding season, an industry body said on Thursday.
In anticipation of strong demand during the festival season, India imported $3.75 billion worth of gold in September - a 450 percent jump from the same period last year.
The jump in imports weighed on the country`s trade deficit, sparking fears that the government could tighten the screws again on overseas purchases of gold.
