INDIA September 24 2014 6:51 PM 
MUMBAI (Scrap Register): India may challenge China to reclaim the spot as the world's best gold consumer, assuming that a report in the Hindustan Times is correct, said investor and newsletter writer Dennis Gartman.

The newspaper carried a report Tuesday estimating that 50 metric tons of gold was smuggled into the country in the previous 10 days amid a surge for demand during the festival season. The smuggling is to avoid the government's import restrictions, including a 10% duty and so-called 80-20 rule that require 20% of all imports to be re-exported as a finished product. The smuggling supposedly occurred on land routes due to tightened airport security.

"If this report is even nearly true rather than wholly true, it shall mean that India is putting China to test once again as the world's largest consumer of gold," said Gartman reported by Kitco News.