"Despite the shortfalls in tonnage in the recent months, the annual figures reflect a positive outlook," said Moaz Barakat, WGC's managing director for the Middle East, Turkey and Pakistan.

He was speaking in a Press conference yesterday to announce the holding of the 6th Dubai City of Gold Conference on April 12-13. The gathering will address various industry issues, such as price increases and the lack of supply. 

Gold consumption in the UAE increased eight per cent to 99.8 tonnes last year from 92.4 tonnes in 2006, with sales value rising 24 per cent to Dh9.5 billion from Dh7.7 billion, he added. Total gold import climbed 12.5 per cent to 559 tonnes from 489 tonnes for the same period.   Also yesterday, Dubai hosted the regional launch of Gold Expressions 2008: The Language of Italian Design, a 317-piece gold jewellery collection. This was the first time that the collection was presented outside of Italy after the global launch at Vicenza Fair in January.  

Ian MacDonald, executive director for gold and precious metals at the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC), said in a statement that the increasing number of investors has driven the rise in gold price.   "Gold price fundamentals have continued to remain extremely strong over the past months, making a strong case for investing in the metal," he added.   Barakat said that buying gold is a good investment that can be a hedge against inflation. "We have seen that investor interest has remained strong, and, as the price stabilises, gold jewellery-buying consumers will further adapt to a higher floor price," he added.  

He stressed that investors in key gold markets worldwide are taking the "flight to quality", with the price of gold reaching the $1,000-per-ounce-mark. This means an annual increase of 52 per cent on the average price of $655.89 per ounce in March 2007.   He also said that investment demand for gold reached a record-high $79 billion last year, $8 billion of which was for the last quarter of 2007.   Tawfique Abdullah, chairman of Dubai Gold & Jewellery Group (DGJG), said the upcoming gold conference would discuss ways to boost growth in the Dh536.2-billion ($146 billion) global jewellery industry, 10 per cent of which or Dh53.2 billion ($14.5 billion) was in the Gulf countries. 

WGC said in a statement that the conference, which is being organised by DGJG in association with DMCC, would host 20 international speakers and over 500 delegates.