US GOLD RUSH II THIS TIME TO SELL OUT!!!

hELLO ALL,

NEWS FROM INDIA REVELAS THAT GOLD PRICES HAVE REACHED,A DN CROSSED THE Rs. 1000/ gram MARK. A recent news article from msn.com, reproduced below, tells the story of how US consumers, are selling gold, to get some cash, in times of a economic slowdown,and gas prices touching $4/ gallon .(thats approx. Rs. 160 for 1.3 litres. )

Pawnshops see rush of gold sellers
With gold about $1,000 an ounce, everyone including Aunt Maude is digging out jewelry and coins from musty drawers and attics -- and cashing in.

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A new kind of gold rush is unfolding at jewelry store and pawnshop counters -- featuring not prospectors, but consumers.

White-collar workers, retirees and many others have been digging through jewelry boxes and safety deposit boxes to cash in as the price of gold hovers around $1,000 an ounce. Coins, old wedding rings, necklaces given by ex-boyfriends, hand-me-down gold pieces -- everything is fair game when it brings this kind of profit.

Shop owners across the country are marveling about the phenomenon they say began in the latter part of 2007 and accelerated through the winter, reflecting torrid gold demand like none had ever seen. There are even gold parties, where people gather to sell their jewelry.

"Everybody's trying to sell," said Richard Rozhko, the owner of a jewelry store on the northern edge of Chicago. "People are trying to cash out because they don't believe that gold's going to go higher than $1,000 or $1,200 (an ounce)."

Rachel Weingarten, a New Yorker with a self-described obsession with "shiny trinkets," didn't need to sell but couldn't resist the chance when she saw prices soar like an overinflated tech stock.

Cash for 'ugly' jewelry
"When I saw the prices going through the roof, I saw it as an amazing opportunity to rid myself of jewelry that no longer suits my taste or status," said Weingarten, a marketing consultant. "It's also been a lot of fun to get cash for stuff that is broken or just really ugly or just takes up room in my drawers."

Royal Pawn Shop, a 75-year-old business within earshot of the rattle of passing El trains in Chicago's South Loop, has display cases sporting fancy gold rings, bracelets and watches along with racks holding hundreds of pawned fur coats. It also has more office workers as customers these days -- mostly sellers, not buyers, bringing in gold chains and rings.

"It's stuff that's lying around the house, so they figure: Why not make money from it?" said Royal co-owner Wayne Cohen. "The price of gold is so ridiculously high that they'd be stupid not to get rid of it."

Others are selling to help cope with tough times in an economic slowdown.

Three miles across town, Division Gold store owner John Vela recounted homemakers coming in to pawn treasured items from their jewelry boxes and numerous clients saying they need money to pay their property tax bills and take care of other rising financial obligations