GOLD SLUMP: Gold jewelry for sale at a shop in Qionghai, Hainan Province. Prices of gold futures at the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 2.3 percent on March 15, the deepest daily drop in 10 weeks, as the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan triggered panic among investors (MENG ZHONGDE)

Numbers of the Week

313.6 billion kwh

China's power consumption in February rose 15.82 percent from a year earlier to 313.6 billion kwh, said the National Energy Administration.

856.8 billion yuan

The total assets of the fund managed by China's National Council for Social Security Fund (SSF) reached 856.8 billion yuan ($130.35 billion) at the end of 2010, up 10.32 percent year on year, said Dai Xianglong, Chairman of the SSF.