{{Recently}} released {{World Gold Council’s (WGC)}} second report on the worldwide demand for gold provides good news for exhibitors at this year’s Dubai Jewellery Week as well as for Middle- East gold companies and reveals demand remains strong in the region. %% Figures showed global demand for gold jewellery has reached a record $14.5 bn., which is 37 per cent higher than Q2 in 2006 with particular strength across the key gold markets in the world. The figures, compiled independently for WGC by {{Gold Fields Mineral Services Limited (GFMS)}}, showed overall demand in the Middle-East region (which includes Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and Egypt) was 20 per cent higher at 97.5 tonnes than the depressed levels of the same quarter in 2006. Breaking the figures down further the report revealed that jewellery demand increased by 21 per cent, while nett retail investment increased nine per cent. Strong regional economies and stable prices in the Middle-East are cited as factors for the growth. %% The country reports added further weight to the healthy state of the Middle- East market with consumer demand in UAE for Q2 15 per cent higher than the same quarter the previous year. Jewellery demand meanwhile was up 18 per cent.