MARKET REVIEW OF THE SGE IN JULY 2004

In July, the Shanghai Gold Exchange traded 25,628.4 kilograms of gold. The gold traded in the first seven months 2004 increased by 36.53 per cent year-on-year to 170,043.35 kilograms, with the trading value up 57.04 per cent to 18.247 billion yuan. Platinum traded in the SGE was 809 kilograms in July. From January to July, the SGE recorded 8,385 kilograms of platinum trading, valued at 1.936 billion yuan.

In the first 20 days of July, global gold price was pumped up by the interest rate lift of the US dollar; then it dropped to below US$400 amid the strong dollar in the last ten days. The high and low this month were US$409.10 and US$384.88 respectively.

In the domestic market, Au99.95 opened July at 105.00 yuan per gram, and closed at 104.09 yuan, down 0.25 per cent. Platinum opened the month at 215.82 yuan per gram, and closed the month at 224.62 yuan, up 3.94 per cent.

In July, the clearing volume for gold was 16,714.45 kilograms. And the clearing volume for platinum was 795 kilograms this month. The clients in the SGE reached 659 as of end-July with 28 new entrants.