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Bundesbank to Citibank: YOU can''t rig our markets; only WE can rig our markets!
By Leora Moldofsdky, Kevin Morrison,
John Reed, and Bernard Simon
Financial Times, London
Thursday, February 10, 2005
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/2a46c2c4-7b0c-11d9-a8c9-00000e2511c8.html
Newmont Mining, the world's biggest gold producer, is lobbying US
congressmen to block any proposal to sell a portion of International
Monetary Fund gold reserves to fund debt relief for some of the
world's poorest countries.
Noting that a number of the developing countries' 41 most heavily-
indebted nations are gold producers, a company spokesman argued
that "the sale of IMF gold would impose a hardship on the very
nations that they're trying to help."
Gold fell to a four-month low yesterday of $410.20 a troy ounce, and
has dropped $10 since IMF sales were first mooted at the weekend.
Newmont, based in Denver, Colorado, also pointed to potential job
losses in the western US, where most of the country's gold mines are
located.
Jim Saxton, a Republican member of the House of Representatives, an
outspoken critic of the IMF, suggested in a statement that the
organisation should use other means to fund Third World debt
relief: "IMF gold sales would amount to hidden contributions of gold
profits legitimately belonging to IMF donor countries and their
taxpayers."
Apart from political concerns, the US government, the world's
biggest holder of gold, is sceptical about the idea because of the
possible effect of sales on its holdings.
Unlike European countries, which have been selling down their
reserves, the US remains attached to its gold reserves and torpedoed
an earlier plan for IMF gold sales in 1999.
Mixed sentiment in Africa reflected the fact that the continent is
both a producer of gold and potential beneficiary of the IMF debt
relief the proposed gold sales would finance.
Trevor Manuel, South African finance minister, who was in London on
the margins of Saturday's G7 meeting, said the world's largest gold
producer would not necessarily block the sales, as long as they were
well managed. But yesterday, Phum-zile Mlambo-Ngcuka, South Africa's
minerals and energy minister, asked by Reuters for an opinion of Mr
Manuel's cautious support, said: "I don't know about that. I am not
in favour of that."
Earlier, she told a mining conference: "We are looking at the latest
intentions of the IMF regarding gold sales, and we are looking at
ways of avoiding it becoming a problem for gold producers."
The G7 asked the IMF to report in April to its shareholders on the
possible sale, among other options, of part of its store of 3,217
tonnes of gold which it values at about $8.5 billion -- about a
fifth of its market value.
Not all producers are against the idea. Owen Hegarty, managing
director of Oxiana, an Australian gold and copper producer, said an
IMF gold revaluation "wouldn't worry us at all. It isn't a market
transaction and it would give the IMF a stronger balance sheet and
enable it to lend more to developing countries."
He added: "While there has been a bit of a market reaction to the
plan in recent days, we think it is a temporary aberration. The
price of gold will continue to reflect the US dollar and other
fundamentals and will soon correct to previous levels."
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