(Reuters) - Physical gold demand in Asia got a fillip this week as consumers snapped up bargains after prices dipped across regions, with premiums in top consumers India and China rebounding to multi-month highs. Dealers in India were charging premiums of up to $5 an ounce, the highest in five months, over official domestic prices — inclusive of the 10.75% import and 3% sales levies — compared with last week’s $1 premiums. “Retail demand is improving because of price correction. Jewellers are also making purchases for upcoming festivals,” said Harshad Ajmera, proprietor of JJ Gold House, a wholesaler in the city of Kolkata. On Friday, local gold futures were trading around 46,500 rupees per 10 grams, after falling to a four-month low of 45,662 rupees earlier this week. “Jewellers are operating with lower stocks than normal. Their buying could jump if new COVID-19 cases continue to fall in the coming weeks,” said a Mumbai-based dealer with a gold importing bank. In China, premiums rose to their highest since early June at $5-$10 per ounce over global benchmark spot gold prices from the $1-$4 range last week. [GOL/] “Gold demand in China was a little better when prices dropped; people rushed to buy gold. But now, it’s a little quiet,” said Ronald Leung, chief dealer for Lee Cheong Gold Dealers in Hong Kong. Premiums of $0.80-$1.80 were charged in Hong Kong with an uptick in demand led by bargain hunters, while $1.20-$1.50 premiums were quoted in Singapore. “We saw an increase of more than 60% in demand as compared to last week for both gold and silver. Many wholesalers and jewellers are also buying during this period,” said Brian Lan, managing director at dealer GoldSilver Central. In Japan, gold was sold on par with global prices, with some demand from investment and retail customers, a Tokyo-based trader said. Reporting by Rajendra Jhadav in Mumbai and Brijesh Patel, Eileen Soreng in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.