Falls China dem Druck der USA nachgibt ist es noch positiver fuer Gold Nachfrage in China.
Glittering recovery predicted for gold
http://www.chinaview.cn 2005-05-18 08:09:15
BEIJING, May 18 -- Gold output in the Chinese mainland is expected to grow by at least 5 per cent this year. Strong demand and bullish prices are expected to lift the market despite a small tumble in the first quarter.
The forecast was made by Lu Wenyuan, vice-chairman of the China Gold Association, speaking yesterday in an interview with China Daily.
The mainland's gold output reached a record high of 212.348 tons last year, up 5.86 per cent from 2003.
However, according to statistics from the gold association, output fell by 3.37 per cent year-on-year to 43.788 tons in the first quarter of this year.
"The small drop in the first quarter was mainly a result of China's Spring Festival holiday in February and should not be seen as the overall trend this year," said Cui Lin, an analyst with Antaike Information Development Co Ltd, the Beijing-based metal consulting firm.
"Gold output will soon start to grow again thanks to robust gold demand and bullish gold prices," Cui told China Daily yesterday.
The mainland's gold output in March stood at 15.993 tons, up from 13.027 tons in February.
The World Gold Council, the London-based gold marketing organization funded by the world's leading gold mining firms, predicted consumer demand for gold in the Chinese mainland will increase by more than 10 per cent this year from 234 tons in 2004.
The mainland's gold demand totalled 70.9 tons in the first three months of this year, up from 62 tons a year ago, said Roland Wang, managing director of the gold council's China operation.
Demand for gold jewellery in the mainland rose by 13.2 per cent year-on-year to 66.8 tons in the period, retail investment surged up 35.8 per cent to 4.1 tons, Wang said.
The strong gold retail investment demand was boosted by growing sales of commemorative gold coins and bullion for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and new year 2005, he said.
At the end of last year, China's Banking Regulatory Commission started to approve the entry of the nation's commercial banks into the gold retail investment business, a major breakthrough in the opening up of the mainland's gold market.
"China's gold imports increased significantly in the first quarter of this year due to short supply in the domestic market," Wang said, without revealing specific figures.
Although prices declined slightly in the first quarter from the 16-year record high of US$457 per ounce (equal to 31.1 gram) at the end of last year, Antaike's Cui said world gold prices would swing upward during the second half of the year due to the weak dollar.
Prices at the Shanghai Gold Exchange, the benchmark for the mainland's gold market, ranged from 108.20 yuan (US$13.07) to 118.80 yuan (US$14.35) per gram in March.
"Bullish gold prices will encourage domestic gold mining firms to greatly increase investment in gold prospecting and exploration this year," Cui said.
High gold prices and strong gold demand generated bumper profits for gold companies in China from January to March this year.
China's gold sector reported earnings of 765.3 million yuan (US$92.43 million) for the first three months, up 39.13 per cent from the same period last year.
Gold trade volume in the Shanghai Gold Exchange jumped 53.85 per cent from a year earlier to record 221.90 tons in the first quarter of this year.
The exchange's gold trade value reached 25.53 billion yuan (US$3.08 billion) in the period, up 62.11 per cent.
The gold exchange, the only one of its kind in China, now has 128 members - including domestic commercial banks and gold producers and processors - conducting spot gold transactions with renminbi.
The price of au99.99 (aurum99.99) gold bullion at the gold exchange closed at 112.23 yuan (US$13.55) per gram yesterday, up 0.05 yuan (0.60 US cents) from Monday.
(Source: China Daily)
