India's December gold imports are expected to have fallen by more than 12 percent

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in December as wedding season demand waned in the world's largest importer of bullion, traders and importers said.

The median forecast in a Reuters poll of 10 industry experts, which included importers and wholesalers, showed India's December imports falling to 35 tonnes from 39.8 tonnes a year ago, in a second straight month of declines.

"In December we saw moderate demand as prices were still holding on the higher side and festivals came to an end," said Mayank Khemka, managing director at Delhi-based wholesaler Khemka International.

Gold on India's Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) traded at 20,716 rupees per 10 grams on Wednesday, up 23 percent on the year and close to an all-time high of 20,924 rupees on Dec. 7.

"Last year in this month gold imports were higher because of a sudden price collapse in the beginning of the month that made people rush to buy gold," said Daman Prakash Rathod, director at Chennai-based wholesaler MNC Bullion.

India's gold market typically sees the strongest demand in August to November, when Hindu festivals such as Diwali and Dhanteras encourage people to buy gold as they think it invokes prosperity.

For 2010 overall, demand for gold has been stronger than in 2009, when people chose to conserve savings because of the worst monsoon season in nearly four decades and imports declined by 19 percent to 339.8 tonnes.

Factoring in the current month's forecast into BBA data, imports for 2010 would rise to 345.3 tonnes, up about 2 percent on the year.