Gold imports to Japan show sharp increase
By Adrienne Roberts
Published: August 22 2002 19:26 | Last Updated: August 22 2002 19:26
Financial Times
Japan's gold imports more than doubled to 7 tonnes in July compared with the year before, according to preliminary Ministry of Finance data. This was well above June's 4.6 tonnes but a far cry from the massive 20 tonnes imported in February as consumers fretted about the safety of their bank deposits.
London spot gold fixed at $306.45 a troy ounce on Thursday afternoon, a few cents below Wednesday's afternoon fix. Trade was thin, with a firmer dollar and rising share prices keeping a lid on the yellow metal.
London spot silver dropped to a six-month low of $4.37 an ounce. The metal, widely used in the electronics and photographic industries, is suffering from a combination of brisk supply and doubts about the pace of economic recovery.
Cocoa prices remained strong, with little damage done by news that the global cocoa supply deficit might be smaller than forecast.
The second position Liffe contract hit its latest 15?-year high, matching the price of £1,414 a tonne reached on July 12.
The International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO) on Thursday forecast that the 2001/2002 cocoa season would result in a shortfall of 80,000 tonnes. Its original estimate had been a 130,000 tonne deficit. In its latest forecast for 2001/02, the ICCO said world production would fall 0.6 per cent to 2.807m tonnes.
Cocoa grindings, considered a pointer to consumption, were forecast at 2.859m tonnes, down 6.3 per cent from last season.
Crude oil futures edged lower, with October Brent down 39 cents at $27.02 a barrel late in London and Nymex crude down 40 cents at $28.84 by late afternoon in New York. |
