India's gold demand could fall to three-year low as prices hit record high

India's gold demand could fall 10 percent in 2019 from a year ago to the lowest level in three years as a rally in local prices to a record high dents retail purchases during a key festive season, the head of an industry body told Reuters.

Lower purchases by India, the world's second-biggest consumer after China, could limit a rally in global prices that hit a 6-year high earlier this week.

"Of late, customers are not used to such a jump in prices," Anantha Padmanabhan, chairman of the All India Gem and Jewellery Domestic Council (GJC) told Reuters by telephone.