17% in UAE gold sales during 2008.

Summary: The World Gold Council (WGC) confirms that the market remains healthy compared to global markets.

The World Gold Council (WGC) confirms that the market remains healthy compared to global markets. WGC's latest reports announced that the UAE gold jewellery sales increased by 17% in 2008 to cross AED13.7 billion compared to AED11.4 in 2007.

While jewellery accounts for 90% of total consumer demand, net retail investment witnessed strong growth of 38% in the last quarter of 2008 compared to the same period of the previous year.

It is normal to see a shift from the jewellery sector to the retail investment sector as it proves consumer's high affinity to gold and their recognition of its store of value. By end 2008 and Q1 of 2009, consumers' excess demand was towards coins and bars in addition to jewellery with relatively low production costs.

The World Gold Council obtains quarterly and annual world wide figures from internationally accredited precious metals consultancy -- Gold Fields Mineral Services (GFMS) and validates them with the trade across the country. These figures are then released to media globally through WGC. Therefore, any other figures published and announced by the media are specifically related to the party releasing the info and not necessarily a reflection of the total market performance.

Anan Fakhreddin, Managing Director World Gold Council, Middle East and Turkey elaborated on the Council's important role saying, "The impact of marketing and promotional gold jewellery campaigns is more important now than ever. The continuous efforts that the World Gold Council and its partners from the gold trade in several countries in the region are essential in order to maintain a healthy gold market environment in the coming period."

2009 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)

2009 Al Bawaba (Albawaba.com)

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