(IBT) --- Russia
and Ukraine , tangled in a
squabble over Crimea , have made some movements
in their respective gold reserves. Data released on Tuesday by the
International Monetary Fund revealed Russia
boosted its gold reserves for the eighth month now in a row, while Ukraine slashed
its bullion holdings for a second straight month.
As of November, Russia 's gold
holdings jumped by 18.753 tonnes to a total of 1,187.493 tonnes. Russia is the
world's fifth-largest holder of bullion reserves. Ukraine , on the other hand, slashed
by 2.488 tonnes its reserves, which are now only at 23.639 tonnes in November.
It had actually divested 14-tonnes in October.
"The country's
financial situation has been under pressure," Steven Dooley, a currency
strategist for the Asia Pacific region at Western Union Business Solutions,
told Bloomberg. "Its currency has been under pressure as well. Ukraine is
definitely a small player. We really haven't seen any large impact on the gold
market," he said.
Russia's gold
buying comes after the World Gold Council early in December revealed the
country had divested some of its precious safe have yellow metal gold to help
keep the economy afloat. Portal Vesti Finance said the central bank
divested some of the country's gold holdings "in order to maintain the
exchange rate."
The WGC believed it
was the first time Russia
divested its gold holdings. The central bank had been consistent in adding gold
to its reserves. In fact, from July to October alone, it purchased an
equivalent 74 tonnes of gold from the domestic market. Russia was
buying cheaper gold as a safe measure "for the possibility of a
long-lasting economic war."
Vesti Finance said
the central bank divested some of the country's gold holdings "in order to
maintain the exchange rate."
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