The IMF holds a staggering 3200 tonnes of gold in its reserves which is sitting idle while the world's poorest are facing the fallout of the global economic crisis and the IMF itself is facing a liquidity crunch.
A report in the Financial Chronicle says that draft papers have been exchanged between Delhi and Beijing proposing that the IMF sell off its huge gold reserve which is an idle asset with a book value of $9.3 billion. But which would fetch close to $100 billion at current prices. Both countries are proposing that this amount be used to improve IMF's liquidity as well as to help the world's poorest countries tackle poverty. An earlier announcement after the G20 summit in London, by IMF, to sell gold to raise $6 billion, caused gold prices to slump. Now this proposed sale is going to be 16 times bigger than the earlier proposal.
This might seem bearish for the price of gold in the short term, but it is being proposed that the sale be staggered over a two or three year period. And if this sale comes to pass, most of this gold will never enter the retail market. Central banks of China, Saudi Arabia, Russia and India will use their dollar reserves to buy it off and increase their gold reserves. This will be a wise step towards a future where the USD will be vacating its seat as the world's reserve currency. One or some or all of the above countries, with some sort of understanding amongst them, may provide an alternative with a partially gold backed currency.
This sale if approved by the member countries of the IMF will improve its short term liquidity and will remove the pressure on both China and India whose economies have grown substantially in the recent past, to finance it.
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3 comments:
Looks like a good idea. When the really hard times hit, it's no use keeping gold in the locker when there is nothing/little on the dining table.
I too think it is a good idea but like all bureaucracies, IMF will take its own sweet time even thinking about and discussing this plan...
Sagarone ji - thanks for sending people to our blogposts about 1984.
Tonight is special for me. Three years ago tonight, I had a major stroke and died - and was brought back to life. So the fact that I am here to tell our stories is nothing short of miraculous.
One big reason I'm here is to tell honestly what happened, so our shaheeds did not die for nothing. The truth needs to be told. And as graphic as our stories are, we didn't have it as bad as some; none of us were burnt alive or gang raped.
Again, thanks.
Mai
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