Last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi scrapped 500- and 1,000-rupee banknotes, or 86 percent of the value of cash in circulation, as part of a crackdown on corruption, tax evasion and militant financing.Indian jewellers rely on the wedding season for an uptick in demand during winter after the end of key festivals such as Diwali, but this year wedding demand has fallen sharply due to the cash crunch, jewellers said.

                                           Local Gold prices fell to 26,862 rupees per 10 gram on Thursday, the lowest since Feb. 2, 2016.Spot gold, which hit a 10-1/2-month low of $1,122.35 last week under pressure from a stronger dollar after a hawkish rate hike forecast from the Federal Reserve, was on track for a seventh straight weekly decline.  

 Gold premiums in top consumer China fell from their near three-year highs hit last week.Premiums in China against the international benchmark came down to $28-$29, traders said