Noch mehrere solche Ereignisse,und die Crimex hats schwer! 
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Gold consumption in India up 50% in H1/05; 508 tonnes ‘consumed’ in H1 despite inflation woes
NEW DELHI (AFP): Indian households are on a record gold-buying spree as oil price-driven inflation threatens to wipe out savings from rising incomes in one of the world’s fastest-growing economies. Gold consumption in India, the world’s largest market for the precious metal, has shot up by 50 per cent in the first half of the year to 508 tonnes, only a little less than the 642 tonnes consumed during the whole of last year, the World Gold Council said. The price of gold surged to an all-time high of 6,990 rupees ($156) per 10 grammes ($442 an ounce) in India this week, though it dropped marginally later. However, the prices are likely to start climbing once again with the wedding and festival season starting among the population of 1.1 billion, brokers said. “There is a new found confidence in gold. Whoever has invested in gold, has made extra money. People are also turning to it as a hedge against the high oil prices,” said Jatin Mehta, head of gold trading firm Suraaj.
Stoking
Two successive hikes in petrol prices since June is stoking India’s inflation rate, which crept above four per cent in the week ended Oct 1. India’s central bank has predicted inflation will range between 5.0 to 5.5 per cent this fiscal year. The income of middle class Indian families has been going up with the economy growing at a robust seven to eight per cent, but putting their savings in banks is yielding little as the interest rate of four to five per cent is barely on par with the inflation rate. Traders said the price of gold was likely to rise another five to 10 per cent by the year-end as more and more people invest their savings and demand for jewellery soars during the October to February festival and marriage season. The yellow metal rose to a new near-18-year high in Europe on Monday and was seen hitting the next big level of around $480-500 an ounce amid buying by funds over inflation worries.
“The linkages between international prices and Indian gold are very close. The demand in India is also because of increasing income levels, due to the rising economic growth rate,” said Sanjeev Agarwal, head of the Indian office of World Gold Council. India’s economy expanded 8.1 per cent in the three months to June, compared to 6.9 per cent over the last financial year ended March. Indian consumers said their decision to buy was not just influenced by economic factors, but traditional preference for gold on special occasions. “I am buying for my daughter’s marriage. Gold prices have risen, but they will keep on rising. And one really has no choice but to buy gold when an occasion like marriage is happening in the family,” said Deepa Ray, a housewife, visiting a New Delhi jewellery shop. Mehta said a large portion of the buying demand was coming from smaller Indian cities and towns, where people are not comfortable investing in stock markets, mutual funds or government saving instruments.
The buying trend in gold has seen a subtle shift in preference for lighter and different designs of jewellery so that they can be worn on various occasions and not just marriage, industry officials said. “Indian women are looking for lighter-weight jewellery. They wear it after asking themselves where I am going, what I am doing,” said Agarwal. “But their preference for the metal remains intact.” He said the rise in prices was also because the gold supply had remained at the same level in the domestic market although consumer demand has shot up. “People are holding on to their stocks of gold. They don’t want to release them now as the maximum buying in the metal takes place between September to January. Therefore, they expect prices to rise in the months ahead,” said Sanjay Kothari, a leading trader. Traders said some of the demand in the market is coming from international customers in United States and Middle East, where Indian-made jewellery is finding greater acceptance as quality improves.
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