Gold imports has declined by 38.54 percent to $1.2 billion in June whereas inbound shipments of silver dropped by more than a quarter in the month.
The government, meanwhile, has announced the launch of fourth tranche of sovereign gold bond scheme from July 18 in a bid to check the demand for physical gold.
The issue price of bond has been fixed by the Reserve Bank of India at Rs 3,119 per gram. The rate is fixed on the basis of simple average of closing price of gold of 999 purity for the week July 11 to 15, 2016 as published by the Indian Bullion and Jewellers Association.