0832 GMT - India's consumption curbs have begun with a duty increase on gold, silver and platinum imports. As external accounts face mounting pressure amid the prolonged Middle East conflict, India's dusting off a playbook used before to arrest non-essential demand, Barclays economists say. Surging gold prices and intermittently high volumes have significantly increased the country's import bill, but tariffs aren't going to make much of a difference. The move may dampen volume demand, but high international gold prices will likely outweigh that. Barclays expects the country's gold import bill to rise further in FY 2027 from FY 2026, offsetting the volume decline. It estimates a 6 bps bump in May CPI inflation, and a 10 bps boost to June's. (fabiana.negrinochoa@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 13, 2026 04:32 ET (08:32 GMT)

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