Supply and demand statistics - notes and definitions

All tonnage statistics (except where specified) are in weights of fine gold.

Tonne	= 1,000 kg or 32,151 troy oz of fine gold.
Na	= not available
…	= not applicable

Mine production
Formal and informal output.

Net producer hedging
The change in the physical market impact of mining companies’ gold loans, forwards and options positions.

Official sector sales
Gross sales less gross purchases by central banks and other official institutions. Swaps and the effect of delta hedging are excluded.

Old gold scrap
Gold sourced from old fabricated products which has been recovered and refined back into bars.
Jewellery. All newly-made carat jewellery and gold watches, whether plain gold or combined with other materials. It excludes second-hand jewellery, other metals plated with gold, coins and bars used as jewellery and purchases funded by the trading in of existing jewellery. Jewellery data reported in end-use consumption tables represent consumption demand, i.e. the fine weight of the gold content of jewellery purchased by the end-consumer. The value of this is calculated using the average gold price over the relevant period. This is not the same as the retail value, which includes, in addition, the value of other inputs and design, manufacturing and distribution costs. Fabrication demand, which is reported in tonnage terms in the supply and demand table, shows the gold used in the manufacture of jewellery. This differs from consumption demand depending on the inventories held at any given time by manufacturers and retailers.

Retail investment
Bar hoarding includes identifiable net purchasing of new and existing gold bars in countries outside Europe and North America. Official coin takes into account newly minted official coins (coins defined as meeting the EU standard for investment gold, e.g. coins that are (or have been) considered as legal tender in the country of origin), as well as commemorative coins, which may or may not meet all the EU criteria. Medals and imitation coins include the minting of other coins, medals and medallions of variable purity. Other retail investment includes identifiable net purchasing by individuals of coins and bars not included in the above categories and private investor metal account holdings. It does not include so-called “investment jewellery” nor institutional investment, i.e. individuals acting collectively via an intermediary.
Exchange-traded funds and similar products includes LyxOR Gold Bullion Securities, Gold Bullion Securities (Australia), streetTRACKS Gold Shares, NewGold Gold Debentures, iShares Comex Gold Trust, ZKB Gold ETF, GOLDIST, Central Fund of Canada and Central Gold Trust.

Industrial demand
The first transformation of raw gold into intermediate or final products destined for industrial use such as gold potassium cyanide, gold bonding wire, sputtering targets. This includes gold destined for plating jewellery.

Dental
The first transformation of raw gold into intermediate or final products destined for dental applications such as dental alloys.

Revisions to data
All data may be subject to revision in the light of new information.

Historical data

Data covering a longer time period will be available on Bloomberg two/three days after it is released by the World Gold Council; alternatively, contact GFMS Ltd (+44 (0) 2074781777; gold@gfms.co.uk).

Copyright and disclaimers

© 2007 World Gold Council and GFMS Ltd. No organisation or individual is permitted to disseminate the statistics relating to gold supply and demand in this report without the written agreement of both copyright owners. However, the use of these statistics is permitted for review and commentary (including media commentary), subject to the two pre-conditions that follow. The first pre-condition is that only limited data extracts be used. The second precondition is that all use of these statistics is accompanied by a clear acknowledgement of GFMS and, where appropriate, the WGC, as their source.
Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information in this document, neither the WGC nor GFMS Ltd can guarantee such accuracy. Furthermore, the material contained herewith has no regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation or particular needs of any specific recipient or organisation. It is published solely for informational purposes and is not to be construed as a solicitation or an offer to buy or sell gold, any gold-related products, commodities, securities or related financial instruments. No representation or warranty, either express or implied, is provided in relation to the accuracy, completeness or reliability of the information contained herein. The WGC and GFMS Ltd do not accept responsibility for any losses or damages arising directly, or indirectly, from the use of this document.