April 4 (Reuters) - Demand for physical gold in China increased this week as trade war jitters spurred safe-haven buying, although customers in India refrained from purchases, anticipating a price drop.
In top consumer China, dealers charged premiums of $6-$13 an ounce over global benchmark spot prices, compared with a discount of $4 and a premium of $1 last week.
"I think this reflects then fact that we are in a strong two-way market - on the one hand pervading uncertainties are drawing in new investors while others are headed for the exit to capture the record prices," independent analyst Ross Norman said.
"We hear brisk business is being done on freshly minted bars."
Meanwhile, central banks are expected to continue buying gold this year due to risks stemming from U.S. President Donald Trump's policies.
Trump unveiled on Wednesday his long-awaited tariff plan, which included a 10% minimum tariff on most goods imported into the United States, along with significantly higher duties on goods from dozens of countries.
Indian dealers this week offered a discount of up to $20 an ounce over official domestic prices, including 6% import and 3% sales taxes, down from a discount of up to $33 last week.
"The constant price swings are throwing buyers off. They're just holding back, waiting for things to settle down," said a Mumbai-based bullion dealer with a private bank.
Domestic gold prices were trading around 89,700 rupees per 10 grams on Friday, after hitting a record high of 91,696 in the previous session. Prices have risen nearly 15% so far in 2025.
"Discounts are narrowing due to lower imports in recent months. On Friday, discounts fell to just $2 following a sharp overnight price correction," said another Mumbai-based bullion dealer.
In Hong Kong, gold was sold at par to $2 premium, while in Singapore , dealers charged a premium ranging from par to $2.
In Japan, bullion was sold flat to a $0.5 premium.
"We saw some selling to take profits but when prices dipped, there was some buying that came in," said a Tokyo-based trader.
Reporting by Anushree Mukherjee in Bengaluru and Rajendra Jadhav in Mumbai; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips
