Tanaka Kikinzoku Records Higher Gold Buy in 2007

Tanaka Kikinzoku Kogyo, Japanese maker and dealer of precious metals and related products, announced on Thursday the firm’s purchasing volume of gold ingot from investors hit the record volume for 3 years in a row, which increased by 1% in 2007 compared with 2006. The firm’s gold ingot selling volume decreased by 5% in 2007 from 2006 and the purchasing volume became to more than triple of the selling volume. The firm’s purchasing volume ofplatinum increased to 1.3 times year-on-year in 2007 while the sales volume almost increased by 26%.The annual average price of gold was 2,658 yen per gram in 2007, which exceeded the yearly averages at 1,105-2,285 yen since 2001. Gold price hit 3,234 yen on 20 November, 2007 and exceeded 3,000 yen for the first time in 23 years.Tanaka Kikinzoku’s platinum sales volume increased in 2007 with the investors’ expectation that platinum price would maintain uptrend. The annual average of platinum price was 4,996 yen per gram in 2007. The price hit the yearly highest at 5,990 yen on 27 December, 2007 and the monthly average price also hit the annual highest at 5,428 yen in the same month. Platinum price hit the highest since April 1980.