黄金也疯狂 节后量价齐升

按照往年的规律，春节之后黄金消费的旺季就算过去了，但是今年却与往年不同,春节之后，黄金市场反而出现了量价齐升的局面。一些城市和地区出现了排队抢购黄金卖断货的情况。

Reporter:

Shoppers have been rushing to jewelry story in Beijing to buy gold products as soon as the doors open.

Yang Yunxiang from Tangshan in Hebei Province is one of them.

"I want to buy 10 kilograms of gold. The prices of gold and silver are soaring very sharply. You can see nearly all the gold products are sold out in many shops, so I'll have to make a quick purchase too."

Gold prices have surged above 303 yuan per gram in China and risen above 1,401 U.S. dollars per ounce on the international market.

Some analysts say China's stringent real estate administrative policies have driven a great amount of capital from the property market, while at the same time, China's stock markets have not performed well. Many people have withdrawn money from these two areas and invested it in gold to avoid risks.

But Zhang Bingnan, Secretary-in-chief of the China Gold Association, says the panic purchase of gold here can be attributed to other factors.

"The price of gold can't be determined by any one country's domestic market, but by the international market. It's unlikely that if more citizens invest in gold with the money they withdraw from stock and property markets, then the price of gold will surge."

Zhang Bingnan says while the price surge is due in part to the political turbulence in some countries in the Middle East and North Africa, the demand for gold on the global market is the main force.

The World Gold Council sys the overall demand for gold was more than 3,800 tons—a historical high during the past ten years.

China and India are the two countries that buy the most gold on the global market.

Zhang Bingnan says many countries' central banks have also competed to purchase gold starting from last year.

"In the past decade, many countries were major gold sellers. But since last year, many of them have become gold buyers. Countries like Russia and India all bought a great amount of gold last year. Now many parties, including both governments and citizens, have become major buyers, resulting in a short supply on the market."

A recent market report by the China Gold Association says China's demand for gold bullion and coins surged by 70 percent in 2010, surpassing the United States and Germany to become the second-largest gold buyer in the world behind India.

Meanwhile, the Chinese government has already raised banks' reserve ratios and interest rates to encourage people to save money.

But Zhang Bingnan says while the country still faces high inflationary pressure, the demand for gold will further increase in the future.

"The most popular gold products are still bullion and coins. The demand for these products almost doubled in 2010 from 2009. Such an upward trend will continue in the coming few years."

China's appetite for the yellow metal is expected to remain robust in 2011, making it a significant force in global gold prices.

For CRI, I'm Liu Min.