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China's gold imports soar almost fivefold, fueled by inflation
By Feiwen Rong
Bloomberg News
Thursday, December 2, 2010
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-02/china-gold-imports-jump-almost-...
BEIJING -- China's gold imports jumped almost fivefold in the first 10 months from the entire amount shipped in last year as concern about rising inflation increased its appeal as a store of value, said the Shanghai Gold Exchange.
Imports gained to 209 metric tons compared with 45 tons for all of 2009, Shen Xiangrong, chairman of the bourse, told a conference in Shanghai today. China, the world's largest producer and second-biggest user, doesn't regularly publish gold-trade figures and rarely comments on its reserves.
Bullion soared 27 percent this year as the dollar dropped on concern that the trillions of dollars governments are pumping into the global economy may debase the value of currencies. China has pledged to use price controls and may raise interest rates a second time this year to slow inflation that has gained to the highest level since 2008.
"The central bank may now be approving all gold import applications," Albert Cheng, managing director of the World Gold Council's Far East department, said in an interview. "The government hasn't officially said that China is encouraging private gold investments, but we in the industry suspect it. And you can see the big jump in the delivered gold imports through the exchange has to be approved by them."
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Prophecy Receives Permit To Mine at Ulaan Ovoo in Mongolia
VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Prophecy Resource Corp. (TSX-V:PCY, OTCQX: PRPCF, Frankfurt: 1P2) announces that on November 9, 2010, it received the final permit to commence mining operations at its Ulaan Ovoo coal project in Mongolia. Prophecy is one of few international mining companies to achieve such a milestone. The mine is production-ready, with a mine opening ceremony scheduled for November 20.
Prophecy CEO John Lee said: "I thank the government of Mongolia for the expeditious way this permit was issued. The opening of Ulaan Ovoo is a testament to the industrious and skilled workforce in Mongolia. Prophecy directly and indirectly (through Leighton Asia) employs more than 65 competent Mongolian nationals and four expatriots. The company also reaffirms its commitment to deliver coal to the local Edernet and Darkhan power plants in Mongolia."
The Ulaan Ovoo open pit mine is 10 kilometers from the Russian border and within 120km of the Nauski TransSiberian railway station, enabling transportation of coal to Russia and its eastern seaports. Thermal coal prices are trading at two-year highs at Russian seaports due to strong demand from Asian economies.
For the complete press release, please visit:
http://prophecyresource.com/news_2010_nov11.php
Gold demand in China gained in the first half as government measures to cool the property market and falling equities spurred investment, the gold exchange said July 7. About 70 percent to 80 percent of the imports in the first 10 months were made into mini-gold bars, which Chinese investors like to hold, the exchange's Shen said.
"Given China is the world's biggest gold producer, the sharp increase in its imports is a big surprise," said Hiroyuki Kikukawa, general manager of research at IDO Securities Co. in Tokyo. "People there need to buy gold to hedge against inflation as the country's tightening monetary policy drives investors from stocks and properties to gold."
China’s consumer prices jumped 4.4 percent in October, the fastest pace in two years, and above the government's full-year target of 3 percent. China's central bank raised interest rates in October for the first time since 2007 and ordered banks on Nov. 10 and Nov. 19 to hold more money in reserve.
"The expectation for higher inflation has fueled great interest among investors to hold physical gold, which led to higher imports," the gold exchange's Shen said. The exchange traded 5,014.5 tons of gold in the first 10 months, up 43 percent from a year ago, Shen said.
Bullion for immediate delivery rose 0.3 percent to $1,392.07 an ounce at 5:36 p.m. in Shanghai after yesterday touching $1,397.50, the highest price since Nov. 12. The metal reached a record $1,424.60 an ounce on Nov. 9 and is set for a 10th annual gain.
China's investment gold demand may reach 150 tons this year, up from 105 tons last year, the World Gold Council's Cheng said. That compares with 3 to 4 tons 10 years ago, Cheng said.
"The investment demand we estimate already reached 120 tons in the first three quarters, and it usually spikes in the fourth," Cheng said. Global investment demand for gold of 1,901 tons last year exceeded jewelry consumption of 1,759 tons for the first time in three decades, according to London-based researcher GFMS Ltd.
China's gold market may double in the next decade as retail investment and jewelry demand gain, the World Gold Council said Nov. 3. Consumption may climb to 800 tons to 900 tons in the next 10 years, said Wang Lixin, the council's Greater China general manager. China's jewelry and investment gold demand was 428 tons in 2009, according to the council.
Sales of gold products such as bars by China National Gold Group Corp., owner of the country’s largest deposit of the metal, jumped as much as 40 percent in the first half, Song Quanli, deputy party secretary at the company, said July 7.
China's central bank in August said that it would let more banks import and export gold and allow overseas companies more access to trading. Gold demand growth in China will likely be supported by rising disposable income levels and the country could surpass India as the world's biggest bullion consumer, Deutsche Bank AG said Aug. 6.
China's plans to relax gold-trading rules may boost demand and increase trading volumes on the Shanghai Gold Exchange, the bank said. Demand will continue to grow, making China one of the top importers together with India, IDO's Kikukawa said.
Gold imports this year by India have already exceeded 2009 levels as consumers boost jewelry purchases, the World Gold Council said Nov. 17. Imports totaled 624 tons by the end of the third quarter, compared with 559 tons in all of 2009, according to the council.
China's gold output may rise to 340 tons this year, from 314 tons last year, solidifying the nation's position as the world's largest producer, Zhang Fengkui, section chief of the raw materials department at the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said on Oct. 16.
The country should raise its gold holdings and its 1,054 tons of reserves are inadequate compared with the 8,133 tons held by the U.S. and 3,408 tons by Germany, Meng Qingfa, a researcher at the China Chamber of International Commerce, said on Oct. 27.
Gold accounts for 1.6 percent of the reserves held by the People's Bank of China, according to the World Gold Council. The country increased reserves by 454 tons to 1,054 tons since 2003, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange said last April.
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Sona Drills 85.4g Gold/Ton Over 4 Metres at Elizabeth Gold Deposit,
Extending the Mineralization of the Southwest Vein on the Property
Company Press Release, October 27, 2010
VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Sona Resources Corp. reports on five drillling holes in the third round of assay results from the recently completed drill program at its 100 percent-owned Elizabeth Gold Deposit Property in the Lillooet Mining District of southern British Columbia. Highlights from the diamond drilling include:
-- Hole E10-66 intersected 17.4g gold/ton over 1.54 metres.
-- Hole E10-67 intersected 96.4g gold/ton over 2.5 metres, including one assay interval of 383g of gold/ton over 0.5 metres.
-- Hole E10-69 intersected 85.4g gold/ton over 4.03 metres, including one assay interval of 230g gold/ton over 1 metre.
Four drill holes, E10-66 to E10-69, targeted the southwestern end of the Southwest Vein, and three of the holes have expanded the mineralized zone in that direction. The Southwest Vein gold mineralization has now been intersected over a strike length of 325 metres, with the deepest hole drilled less than 200 metres from surface. "The assay results from the Southwest Zone quartz vein continue to be extremely positive," says John P. Thompson, Sona's president and CEO. "We are expanding the Southwest Vein, and this high-grade gold mineralization remains wide open down dip and along strike to the southwest."
For the company's full press release, please visit:
