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World Gold Council Releases First Quarter 2011 Gold Investment DigestMay 03, 2011 (Close-Up Media via COMTEX) -- The World Gold Council has released its First Quarter 2011 Gold Investment Digest. According to a release, the digest's findings show that despite an initial pullback of the gold price in January, positive investor sentiment towards gold and greater confidence in the timing of jewellery purchases contributed to a quarterly performance, prompting gold to reach new all-time highs in early April and leading it to breach the $1,500/oz mark. Gold remained one of the least volatile commodities in the wider commodities mix, with average annualized volatility of only 13 percent, down from its historical 20 year average of 15.8 percent. Juan Carlos Artigas, Investment Research Manager at the World Gold Council, said, "Gold's performance in Q1 2011 was characterized by continued concerns over the global economy, which have led investors to become increasingly aware of gold's qualities as a preserver of wealth." Officials noted that a key trend noted in the Gold Investment Digest is the concern over global inflation, with comments by the Federal Reserve signalling an extended period of low rates serving to increase inflation expectations in the US. Additionally, the digest states that gold price rose by 2.4 percent during the first quarter to US$1,439.00/oz by 31 March 2011, on the London PM fix, a more modest rise relative to average gains of 6.2 percent per quarter over the past two years. By the end of the first quarter, ETFs held a total of 2,110.3 tonnes of gold worth US$97.6 billion, compared with the high of 2,167.4 tonnes at 31 December 2010, or US$97 billion a modest net outflow in the quarter. Central banks continued to be net buyers of gold in the first quarter 2011 with emerging market countries, including Russia and Bolivia, being among the key net buyers. As a group, the official sector holds 18 percent of all above ground stocks of gold. The World Gold Council is the market development organisation for the gold industry. More Information: gold.org/media. ((Comments on this story may be sent to [email protected])) |