Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Decoupling the forgotten Dirty Word - Gold buying frenzy in China. GDX, HIU, XAU, AUY, FXI, TNR.v, RMK.v.

As Don Coxe has recently put it: "High unemployment in USA does not mean that everybody else became poor". We can see some encouraging signs from China: economy was based on export and it has fallen dramatically, but consumer side of things is just at the very beginning in China. Few Asian strategist start to talk about decoupling again. As you remember we were strong believers in decoupling and are seeing more and more signs confirming it. The Great Bull in commodities maybe has just a brief pause after all: to clean up the bet on over leveraged Western consumers and make a strong base for future development based on more prudent monetary system.



Gold buying frenzy in China



Source: CCTV.com
02-10-2009 17:25
As the financial markets reach some of the lowest points in decades, gold continues to shine in China. Sales of gold jewelry and Chinese New Year themed gold products are more popular than ever.
Sales of gold products reached their highest point in the beginning of this year in Beijing's major shopping centers. Beijing Caibai Shopping Mall says its revenue from gold jewelry reached nearly 330 million yuan in January, up nearly 40 percent year on year.
Wang Chunli, general manager of Beijing Caibai Shopping Mall, says, "most people are buying gold bars as part of a new year collection or as an investment."
Mr Shen, a consumer, says, "I invested in a few gold products. The markets for stocks and funds last year were terrible. So gold is enjoying good earnings. The gold I bought was only 90 yuan per gram. But now it's worth over 190 yuan per gram. So I am thinking I should invest more money in gold."
Ms Xiao, a consumer, says, "I bought this gold bar when it was only 93 yuan per gram. But the price has gone up to nearly 200 yuan per gram, so I am thinking about selling it. "
Analysts say gold is easy to store, and is the safest investment. That's why the market is seeing a surge in the number of consumers buying gold now.
World gold prices reached a record high of 1,030 US dollars per ounce last year. By year end it had dropped by 15 percent. Experts say that compared with other financial products, gold suffered the least from the financial meltdown.
Wang Lixin, Great China manager of World Gold Association says, "gold is a very solid asset. It does not belong to any countries, or governments, or institutions. And its connection to financial products is very low. Its value does not fall with stocks or funds. The overall performance of gold has been quite stable in the past. So we see lots of people diversifying their investments and putting money into gold."
A consumer says, "the financial crisis is so terrible. But the price of gold won't drop. So it could come handy if I need some cash."
Analysts say investments like stocks, bonds, and real estate are highly connected to economic performance. They rise and fall at the same time. Chinese consumers now believe gold is a very good product for holding its value.

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