SE Asian crisis hits gold buyers: Report

SE Asian crisis hits gold buyers: Report

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Gold purchases in Southeast Asia have dropped more than 20 percent in some countries due to the currency crisis afflicting the region, reports here said Saturday.

Gold appears more expensive because local currencies have depreciated against the U.S. dollar, the Business Times newspaper quoted Kitaru Inagaki, area manager of the World Gold Council, as saying.

He said Malaysia had already seen a 20 percent drop in gold sales in the July to September period.

Inagaki said Indonesia and Thailand also faced a similar situation, adding that gold prices in Jakarta and Bangkok had risen by 33 percent and 28 percent respectively since July.

"People sold more than they bought ... resales amounted to 30 tons in the third quarter," Inagaki said.

The paper said gold consumption in Indonesia amounted to 130 tonnes a year, while Malaysia consumed 100 tonnes and Thailand, 136 tons.

Asia remains the highest regional gold consumer: 1,728 tons used in 1996, accounting for 66 percent of total world consumption, the paper said.

Earlier, Wong See Wah, deputy finance minister said, next to Indonesia and Taiwan, Malaysia was now an important production center for gold jewelry.

In 1996, Malaysia imported non-monetary gold valued at 4.6 billion ringgit compared with 200 million in 1986, indicating an average annual growth of 32. 4 percent, he said.

Wong said over a period of 10 years, the export of non- monetary gold had surged 77.8 percent to 88.5 million in 1996.