China gold jewelry demand surges 23%, over U.S.

China's demand for gold jumped 23 percent in 2007 as rising personal incomes helped it to race ahead of the U.S. to become the world's second-biggest market, the World Gold Council said.

Gold use in jewelry in China mainland rose to 302.2 metric tons last year, from 244.7 tons in 2006, Roland Wang, general manager of Greater China at the council, told reporters Tuesday in Shanghai. That compares with 558.2 tons in India, the biggest consumer, and 262.9 tons in the U.S.

Increased jewelry purchases by consumers in China and India, the world's fastest-growing major economies, may help to support the price of gold, which reached a record high of US$936.92 an ounce on Feb. 1. Bullion has risen for seven straight years.

The Shanghai Gold Exchange settled the contract details with HSBC Holdings Plc and Standard Chartered Plc, exchange Chairman Shen Xiangrong said at Tuesday's conference.

The People's Bank of China approved five foreign banks that have incorporated in China to become members of the exchange to act as market makers, Shen said in June last year.sk
Source: chinapost