Gold deliveries up 7pc

compared with the same period the previous year.
The African Development Bank said in a commentary that the cumulative total deliveries for the 11 months to November were 12 422kg compared with 11 645kg delivered during the comparable period in 2011.

For the month of November 2012, gold deliveries by primary producers grew by 12,6 percent to 866,57kg from 769,29kg in 2011. But deliveries by small-scale miners declined by a significant margin of 30,04 percent from 348,15kg to 246,56kg, contributing to the 0,65 percent decline in total gold deliveries for the month of November 2012.

By the end of November, gold producers had delivered only 83 percent of the targeted output of 15 000kg. It is believed that the mining sector requires US$10 billion in the next five years to recover. Currently, the mining sector is contributing 13 percent of the gross domestic product.

Last month, the Chamber of Mines said Freda Rebecca was now the largest gold producer in the country after it surpassed its target of 72 000oz in annual production. Investments in exploration at mines such as Blanket, New Dawn and Duration Gold also contributed to record gold production last year.

In 2011, US$2,013 billion came from minerals.
Global gold prices fluctuated throughout November. Analysts believe that the downward trend was a result of the depreciation of the Indian rupee, which may have slowed the demand for gold in India, which is the largest importer of gold.

It was also caused by the depreciation of several currencies against the US dollar, including the Japanese yen and the Canadian dollar.

On the other hand, positive movements were mostly as a result of the European Union finance ministers’ approval of the Greek bailout announced at the early November EU summit and talks between US policymakers as they saought to avoid triggering the “fiscal cliff”, a mix of government spending cuts and tax hikes expected to hit the US this year. The gold price ended the month of November at US$1 687 per ounce.

Total global gold supply reached 31 460 tonnes.