Mumbai

A FALL in global gold prices from their seven-week highs failed to spur physical demand in Asia this week, with premiums in major consumer India slipping, as prospective buyers held off purchases until some stability emerges.

In China, the world's top gold consumer, investors were still hooked on equities which regained some lost ground after this week's plunge that roiled global stocks, skipping gold whose prices have failed to rally. "There's not much interest on the physical side. The Chinese are still concentrating on the stock market rather than the gold market," said Ronald Leung, chief dealer at Lee Cheong Gold Dealers in Hong Kong.