Nov 26 (Reuters) - Physical gold demand picked up in major Asian hubs this week helped by a retreat in prices, with dealers in India prepared for a likely spurt in buying as the wedding season gathers pace. With a correction in prices during the first half of the week, "jewellers have been making purchases at lower levels as they are witnessing healthy retail demand for weddings," said a Mumbai-based bullion dealer with a private bank. Local gold futures fell to 47,253 rupees earlier this week, the lowest in a fortnight. Dealers offered discounts of up to $1 an ounce over official domestic prices — inclusive of 10.75% import and 3% sales levies — versus last week"s $2 discounts.Gold has traditionally been an integral part of weddings in India, the world"s second biggest bullion consumer after China. Lower prices drove a slight pick up in China and Japan as well.Chinese customers were charged premiums of $4-$5 an ounce over benchmark spot prices , versus last week"s $1-$4. The country"s monthly net gold imports via Hong Kong jumped 56% in October to the highest since June 2018. read more Peter Fung, head of dealing at Wing Fung Precious Metals, said Chinese demand should remain healthy as Christmas approaches, adding a dip in global rates below $1,800 an ounce prompted a pick in purchases. Benchmark spot prices hit a multi-week low of $1,777.80 on Nov. 24, although concerns over a new coronavirus variant drove a rebound on Friday. "Demand has recovered a bit in Hong Kong as well, we can see more interest in jewellery," Fung added. Premiums of $1 per ounce were charged in Hong Kong. Meanwhile, the Singapore gold market has been very sluggish this week tracking a soft assets markets and the sharp selloff in equities, said David Mitchell, managing director at Indigo Precious Metals. Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav in Mumbai, Nakul Iyer, Arundhati Sarkar an