A1SaudiArabia.com

JEDDAH – Demand for gold jewelry rose 25 percent in Saudi Arabia in the first quarter of 2010, according to the latest quarterly report from the World Gold Council (WGC).

UAE registered 29 percent growth.

India was the clear global leader, recording a 291 percent surge to 147.5 tons, compared to the first quarter of 2009, followed by the UAE and Saudi Arabia in second and third places, according to the WGC report released on Tuesday.

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JEDDAH – In a bid to encourage gold trading and build collaborative relationships for developing gold market in Saudi Arabia, the top leadership of the World Gold Council (WGC) will make its visit to the Kingdom this week.

A statement issued by WGC on Monday said Aram Shishmanian, chief executive officer of the Council, will meet the representatives of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabias gold industry and government leaders to extend the collaborative support to the country for developing gold markets here.

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JEDDAH – The World Gold Council (WGC) expects that demand for gold will be strong during 2010, driven by growing demand for jewelry in China and India as well as an increase in European and US investment in the context of continued economic instability, sovereign risk and the threat of a double dip recession.

According to WGCs Gold Demand Trends report, published today, demand in India and China will continue to grow, driven by jewelry demand, in spite of high local currency gold prices. In Q1 2010, India was the strongest performing market as total consumer demand surged 698 billion to 193.5 tons.

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JEDDAH/NEW YORK/LONDON – Robust market fundamentals, including evidence of both stronger jewelry demand in India, growth in Chinese jewelry demand and sustained investor inflows, continued to support gold price performance during the first three months of 2010, according to the World Gold Councils (WGC) latest Gold Investment Digest.

The report published last Thursday showed:

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JEDDAH – Gold prices in April will stand to recover from the losses it made in March as demand for the metal is expected to rise in near future.

Markets have witnessed some interesting movements in gold counter last month as it had tested nearly six week low and then smartly recovered from its losses on falling dollar and geopolitical news.

Chinas gold demand is expected to double over the next decade due to jewelry consumption and investment needs, the World Gold Council (WGC) said.

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BEIJING – Chinas gold consumption could double in the next decade if its economy continues to grow at a rapid pace and living standards improve, an industry group said Monday.

China is the worlds second-largest consumer of gold after India, with demand exceeding $14 billion in 2009, or 11 percent of global demand, the World Gold Council said in a report titled “Gold in the Year of the Tiger”.

“If China continues to grow at near the current rate in economic and wealth terms, gold consumption in China will continue to expand and has the potential to double during the next decade,” the report said.

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JEDDAH – Gold prices are expected to fall in the second half of 2010 and first quarter of 2011, according to the Gold  Mining  fields company GFMS analysis, said Ali Saleh Batarfi Al- Kindi , deputy head of gold manufactures and member of the Jeddah committee.

GFMS is the worlds foremost precious metals consultancy specializing in research into the global gold, silver, platinum and pladium markets.

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DUBAI – Middle East fourth-quarter gold demand fell 32 percent on the year as jewellery sales continued to feel the impact of high prices and the global economic downturn, the World Gold Council said on Wednesday.

Jewellery demand makes up the bulk of gold consumption in the Middle East, leaving gold sales more sensitive to consumer trends than in other parts of the world where investors account for a higher portion of sales.

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DENVER – Demand for gold has seen a slight recovery in jewelry and industrial markets, an industry trade group said Wednesday.

Jewelry, the biggest market for gold, had the smallest decline of the year in the fourth quarter – down 8 percent – as stronger demand in India and China offset weaker markets in western countries, the World Gold Council said.

It was an indication some consumers are adjusting to higher prices, the council said. Gold jumped 38 percent in the quarter to an average of $1,099.63 an ounce.

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JEDDAH – Gold price has a positive correlation with money supply growth, according to a new empirical study produced by the World Gold Council, a fact that is extremely pertinent in todays environment of elevated money supply growth. Moreover, money supply growth tends to precede gold price increases by 6 to 9 months.

As money supply increases, gold price rises. This trend is upheld by the quantity theory of money which illustrates that money supply has a direct, positive relationship with the price level. It shows divergences caused by inflationary expectations may last for a very long time, even decades, but the long-term price of gold is driven by global money supply.

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