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La Banque centrale allemande refuse de vendre les réserves d'or

2006-03-22 13:27:17

BERLIN, 21 mars (XINHUA) -- La Bundesbank, la banque centrale allemande, a refusé mardi de vendre une partie des réserves en or pour obtenir des liquidités comme le demandait le ministre des Finances.

"L'or est un élément essentiel des réserves de monnaies et constitue un facteur de stabilité et de confiance", a déclaré le président de la Bundesbank, Axel Weber.

Le ministre allemand des Finances, Peer Steinbruek, avait demandé à la banque de vendre une partie de ses 3428 tonnes d'or pour obtenir des liquidités, selon une information de l'agence de presse allemande DPA.

M. Weber a averti que l'augmentation de 3 points de la Taxe sur la valeur ajoutée (TVA) jusqu'à 19% allait nuire à la croissance économique du pays.

En 2005, la Bundesbank a gagné près de 2,9 milliards d'euros ( environ 3,5 milliards de dollars) pour l'Etat.

China should tap FX reserves to buy gold - banker

Sun Mar 26, 2006

BEIJING, March 27 (Reuters) - China should use part of its fast-growing foreign exchange reserves to buy gold as it seeks to adjust the asset mix to hedge against risk, a Bank of China official was quoted on Monday as saying.

Analysts say China has been gradually diversifying away from the dollar -- although fears of a collapse in the U.S. currency will prevent any dramatic shift. Chinese officials have denied reports they plan to sell current dollar assets in the reserves.

"China should appropriately reduce the proportion of dollars in its foreign exchange reserves while increasing the proportion of currencies such as the euro," the Financial News quoted Wang Yuanlong, a director at Bank of China's Australian operations, as saying.

"We can use part of the foreign exchange reserves to buy gold, which would help make the reserves more diversified and help guarantee and increase their value," said Wang, former economist at Bank of China, the country's largest foreign exchange bank.

China's foreign exchange reserves swelled 34 percent in 2005 to a record $818.9 billion, but the central bank has not disclosed the composition.

Last month, state media quoted Wang as saying China should ideally hold between $300 billion and $400 billion in foreign exchange reserves.

China has been a big buyer of U.S. government bonds, helping to finance a heavy U.S. current-account deficit and to keep American interest rates low. Investors watch closely for any sign that Beijing might shift the government's investment mix.

Central bank chief Zhou Xiaochuan said earlier this month that China would adjust the mix of its reserves in light of global market conditions. In doing so, China's criteria would be safety, liquidity and profitability, in that order.

China's currency reserves have soared in recent years as the central bank, in order to hold down the yuan, bought most of the dollars generated by a growing trade surplus, inflow of foreign direct investment and speculative capital.

The fast-growing foreign exchange holdings signal persistent upward pressure on the yuan, despite China's landmark 2.1 percent revaluation of the currency in July, analysts say.

Largest gold deposit in China discovered


BEIJING, March 28 -- With a recoverable reserve over 200 tons, the Yanshan gold deposit in Wen county, northwest China's Gansu province under exploration will become the largest gold mine in China.

Situated in a "golden triangle" neighbouring Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi provinces and traversed by No. 212 national highway, Yangshan gold mine is conveniently located. With the continuous exploration work, fresh discoveries have been made every year and the gold mine is expanding rapidly.

(Source: People's Daily)