SOIL EROSION

Greetings!

Students, herewith is an article. Make a reaction out of it. At least 300 words. Write it in an A4 paper, use arial font and 12 for font size. Submit it on February 21, 2011. (Note: Consider the following: Content, Technical, Organization and Presentation)

yours,

DIOBEIN C. FLORES, MAED-TS

The demand for gold last year was led by consumers of the metal, rather than investors. This is the central conclusion of the lPost Options

atest Gold Demand Trends report from the World Gold Council (WGC).

In its report, WGC describes 2010 as "an outstanding year for gold, with strong demand across all sectors". Demand for the metal was up 9% to a 10-year high of 3,812t, worth some US$150 billion (up 38% on 2009). This interest led to a new record gold price of US$1,421/oz on November 9.

The jewellery sector enjoyed a strong recovery, with annual demand 17% higher than in 2009 at 2,060t. This was driven by Asian consumers, particularly in China and India (which together constituted 51% of total jewellery and investment demand in 2010).

The WGC has also identified a "structural shift" in central bank policy towards gold. This meant that for the first time in 21 years the central banks became net buyers of gold last year.

Marcus Grubb, WGC's managing director, investment, commented "the shift in Central Bank activity was the result of two distinct market forces. Emerging market economies, experiencing rapid growth, have been large buyers of gold to diversify their external reserves. Meanwhile, European central banks have virtually stopped sales in the wake of the financial and European sovereign-debt crises."

Investment demand, however, was down 2% compared with 2009. Nevertheless, the annual total was still the second highest on record at 1,333t, which equated to US$52 billion (up 23%).

The WGC believes that investment demand for gold "as a foundation asset in portfolios is likely to remain strong, fuelled by ongoing uncertainty surrounding global economic recovery and fiscal imbalances, as well as fear of impending inflationary pressures and currency tensions".

Investment demand grew most strongly in China, with demand for small bars and coins rising 70% year-on-year to almost 180t, worth approximately US$7 billion.

Total supply is estimated to have increased 2%, compared with 2009, to 4,108t. Within this total, recycled gold fell 1% year-on-year to 1,653t and mined production was 9% higher at 2,543t