IMF sells 10 tons of gold to Sri Lanka
- Source: Global Times
- [14:53 November 26 2009]
- Comments
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced Wednesday it had sold 10 tons of gold to the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, to reduce the IMF's dependence on lending revenue and to bolster its finances amid the global economic crisis.
The amount sold was part of the total sales volume of 403.3 tons approved by the IMF's executive board in September. This transaction was conducted on the basis of Monday's market prices with proceeds equivalent to $375 million (SDR 234 million), the IMF said in a statement.
It was the third IMF sale of gold in a month for the Washington-based institution, the world's third largest official holder of gold. The proceeds from sales of gold will be also used to "provide concessional financing for low-income countries", which was put forward by the Group of 20 (G20) countries at their summit in London in April.
On November 2, the IMF sold 200 tons of gold to India's central bank for $6.7 billion, and then sold two tons of gold to Mauritius on November 16 for $71.7 million.
The IMF said it would sell gold directly to central banks and other official holders for an initial period before selling the remaining amount on the open markets "in a phased manner over time".
The institution also promised that it will inform markets before sales of the gold on the open markets, and will report regularly to the public on progress of the gold sales.
