Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Gold/Mining/Energy : Gold Price Monitor -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: goldsnow who wrote (7768)	2/22/1998 9:02:00 PM
From: goldsnow	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116874

India gold loses glitter, trade ignores elections 04:19 a.m. Feb 22, 1998 Eastern By Anshuman Daga BOMBAY, Feb 22 (Reuters) - India's gold trade has seen little activity despite uncertainties over parliamentary elections because of a perception the metal is losing its importance as a store of value in times of crisis, analysts said. ''Demand is now getting more and more affected by international prices rather than factors like general elections,'' said Ravi Vasantraj, vice president at Mecklai Financial and Commercial Services. Investors' inclination to buy gold during times of political uncertainty and economic crisis is slowly diminishing after its relentless battering in 1997, traders said. ''The elections have not affected our market in any way,'' Satish Bansal, director of New Delhi-based M.D. Overseas Ltd, a leading gold and silver importer, told Reuters. India is in the midst of general elections, the second in as many years. Voting in the country is staggered over five days between February 16 and March 7, apart from two snowbound counstituencies. ''In our trade it does not really matter which government comes to power,'' New Delhi-based Bansal said. ''Whoever comes to power, it is not going to impact our market unless there is a major policy change, which is very unlikely,'' he added. India is the world's largest consumer of gold, using up to 500 tonnes annually, most of which is imported. Most opinion polls have given the main opposition nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) a fighting chance of forming the next government, but it is expected to fall short of an outright majority. But the BJP faced a severe setback on Saturday when a key ally deserted it in a power sharing arrangement in the Uttar Pradesh state government. The Hindu party's troubles have increased the chances of a fractured parliament and another coalition government. ''Indian demand will continue to remain high for lots of time to come, but the pace of consumption will taper off,'' Vasantraj said. Indians' affinity with gold has traditionally been driven by consumers who buy gold at every family occasion, passing it on as heirlooms from one generation to another. Around 10 million marriages take place every year across India, each requiring at least 30 grams of gold, which altogether work out to 300 tonnes, Bombay Bullion Association (BBA) estimates show. ''The rural folk who do not have access to financial markets feel that gold is a safe investment,'' said R.V. Joshi, general manager at Bank of India. But in urban centres where people have been aware of the falling in international prices, the lure of gold is diminishing rapidly. International gold prices had tumbled to 19-year-lows earlier this year, hit by relentless news and rumours about central bank sales, but has since recovered to trade near $300.0 an ounce, up from a low of $280.0. ''Structurally and permanently, the value of gold has eroded from the previous time when central banks used to treat gold as a safe haven,'' R. Ravimohan, managing director at Credit Rating Information Services of India Ltd (CRISIL) said. Gold is increasingly being used for jewellery and ornaments rather than as a hedge against inflation, said Makhan Lal Damani, president of the BBA. India's gold holdings are estimated at around 9,000 tonnes, accumulated over generations and mainly comprising family heirlooms and jewels forming part of dowry gifts. ^REUTERS@

To: goldsnow who wrote (7768)	2/24/1998 7:06:00 PM
From: goldsnow	Respond to of 116874

FOCUS-S.Korea continues to export collected gold 11:39 a.m. Feb 24, 1998 Eastern By Jae Hur SEOUL, Feb 24 (Reuters) - South Korean trading firms have continued exporting gold amassed in a patriotic campaign to beat the country's foreign exchange crisis, despite a central bank plan announced earlier this month to buy up some of the metal, bullion traders said on Tuesday. Trading companies prefer to export the collected gold instead of selling it to the Bank of Korea because they want to boost their export performance figures, the traders said. The trade ministry said on Tuesday South Korea had exported 180.8 tonnes of gold worth $1.7 billion, out of the 222.8 tonnes collected by February 21 in a drive led by local financial institutions in co-operation with broadcasting stations, local refineries and trading houses. The campaign followed agreement on a $60-billion bailout package for South Korea's teetering economy led by the International Monetary Fund. South Koreans have taken the campaign to heart since it began in early January, queuing up to sell commonly held gold items such as rings, necklaces, bracelets, hairpins, keys, coins and bars. The scheme provides for them to be paid in local currency a month after submitting their gold. The exported gold is expected to hit the bullion markets after a delay of several months, as the foreign financial institutions which bought the metal will have to refine it. The Bank of Korea said early this month it was willing to buy an unspecified amount of the collected gold from local financial institutions, to minimise the impact on global gold prices and to increase its foreign exchange reserves. But a central bank official, who declined to be named, said the bank was expected to buy only a limited part of the total. ''I think the bank's purchase will total only around four tonnes by early March,'' said the official, without elaborating further. Three local jewellery industry bodies have urged the government to halt the collection drive, saying it has had a negative impact on the domestic industry. ''We have asked the government to stop the campaign and exports,'' Han Jong-chan, general manager at the Korea Jewellery Association's business department, told Reuters. Han said the gold exports would not do much to help the economy as the country would have to import gold later on to satisfy domestic industrial demand. He also urged the government to study ways to maximise value added on the gold before export, which he said would benefit both the country's foreign exchange reserves and the jewellery industry. Officials at the Korea Jewellery Association and the country's other main industry groups, the Korean Jewellery Manufacturers Association and the Gemmologist Association of Korea, have also said local department stores should stop similar campaigns to collect diamonds. The won/dollar telegraphic transfer selling rate for customers, posted by the Korea Exchange Bank and regarded as a currency benchmark for bullion companies, fell to 1,705.80 on Tuesday from 1,599.60 two weeks ago. The daily gold selling price posted by South Korea's LG Metals Corp, a benchmark for the local bullion wholesale market, rose to 16,670 won per gramme on Tuesday from 16,200 won two weeks ago. seoul.newsroom+reuters.com)) ^REUTERS@