Still, much more than 100 tonnes of gold have been imported in August so far, according to sources – dealers and fabricators are stocking up ahead of the fast-approaching festival season, which kicks off early next month.

Around 95 tonnes of gold were imported in July after 55 tonnes in June, 62 tonnes in May, 81 tonnes in April and 131 tonnes in March, with extremely high import figures also recorded towards the end of 2014