The demand for gold in India reached an all-time high in the third quarter of 2008, reported Channel NewsAsia. With uncertainty in the financial markets, people in India have started relying on gold as a safe investment option. According to the World Gold Council of India, US$6.1 billion worth of gold was sold in the third quarter of 2008 in India, a jump of 66 percent compared to last year. The global demand for gold leapt by 18 per cent in the third quarter, boosted by sales in India.

About 30 percent of Indian industrial metal importers have defaulted on consignments after prices slumped by more than half, the head of a trade body said on Wednesday. "Most of the importers are hit severely. Some importers who had taken bigger risks are not able to clear consignments from the ports," Surendra Mardia, president of the Bombay Metal Exchange (BME), told Reuters in an interview. The BME, with about 500 members, is the biggest association of non-ferrous metal traders in India.