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發表於 2008-2-12 23:14:43
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原帖由 JKL 於 2008-2-12 11:07 PM 發表
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G7 approves International Monetary Fund (IMF) Gold Sales
LONDON –
Feb 11 – 9.40GMT
The G7, the group of seven rich nations on Saturday approved the sale of gold by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from April as part of a broad reform of its budget, Italian Economy Minister Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa said.
"There was an acceptance among the G7 that resources should be raised by selling gold," Padoa-Schioppa, who is also the head of the IMF's steering committee (IMFC), told reporters after a meeting of G7 finance ministers in Tokyo.
He said the agreement would be finalised in April and would complement spending cuts being drawn up by the IMF under its new managing director, Dominique Strauss-Kahn.
"The current gold price means a flow of income can be ensured," Padoa-Schioppa said.
An analyst at Morgan Stanley said the IMF held 103.4 million ounces of gold worth some $92 billion at current market prices. That was up from $23 billion just five years ago.
"The IMF is rich, if it wants to be," the analyst wrote in a recent note to clients, which was issued before the G7's approval of the gold sales. "This is arguably a good time to consider selling some of these gold holdings and investing the proceeds in financial securities with positive yields."
A surge in oil prices has boosted gold's appeal as a hedge against inflation.
The precious metal gained over 30 percent last year as safe-haven buying increased due to the credit market turmoil and worries about the health of the dollar as it fell to record lows against the Euro (1.4966).
Padoa-Schioppa noted that in the case of the United States, approval for gold sales would be required by Congress, meaning "the administration must present a proposal and support it".
Padoa-Schioppa said he would step down as president of the IMFC because of the recent fall of the Italian government which meant he would soon lose his job as economy minister.
Asked if he would continue as IMFC head, he said: "I don't believe so, it has to be a minister in office, and soon I will no longer be a minister in office."
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