Leaked information concerning Russia selling up to 50 tonnes of gold has forced the government to postpone the sale due to fears of a drop in price.
It was revealed Tuesday that Russia has stopped a planned sale of between 20 and 50 tonnes of gold for an indefinite time period after information was leaked to the markets reports the
Times.
But despite the lack of reaction in gold markets the deputy head of the government agent for precious metals sales, Almazjuvelirexport (Almaz), Sergei Gorny told
Reuters, "Due to the leak of the information the sale in the reported period and in the reported form will not take place."
The sale would have accounted for up to 1.25 per cent of the total world's consumption of the precious metal and would have been the first sell-off of gold by the country since the fall of the Soviet Union.
The sale would have raised as much as $1.7 billion for Russia's coffers, that was intended to help plug a budget deficit, says the Times.
Gold has been trading at record prices for the last couple of months, and is now being buoyed by India's purchase last week of 56 tonnes of gold for the Dhanteras and Diwali festivals along with fears of inflation next year.
In an interview with the Times, David Wilson, director of metal research at Société Générale said he believes that gold prices should remain around the $1,000 mark over the next few years.
