Commodity Online
NEW DELHI: Gold is the winner in Q4. According to a World Gold Council report, average price of gold jumped 25 per cent to $871.90 an ounce in the fourth quarter of 2008 on safe-haven buying even as equity and commodity markets slumped.

The WGC report said investment demand for bullion remained strong in the fourth quarter, with 96 tonnes of gold bought in terms of gold-backed exchange-traded funds, compared with a record 145 tonnes in the third quarter.

Gold’s performance is especially impressive considering the massive wealth destruction that took place elsewhere in financial markets. Global equities and many commodities, for example, lost approximately half their value over the course of last year, Natalie Dempster, WGC’s head of investment, North America, said in the report.

According to the report, of the 17 commodities that the WGC regularly monitored, Gold was the only one to increase in price last year. The sharpest decline was posted in crude oil, which fell by 64 per cent. Industrial metals, including lead, Nickel and copper, each fell by more than 50 per cent.

WGC said investors continued to buy gold amid uncertainties in the financial markets.

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