Gokhran to Sell Gold to Finance Additional Diamond Buying
November 22, 09
The Russian state precious metals and gemstones repository Gokhran will sell 30 tonnes of gold to the Central Bank of
The gold deal is expected to conclude by the end the year and is currently being finalized, according to Kudrin. He added that the gold would not enter the market.
Kudrin reported plans to buy 31 billion rubles ($1 billion) worth of rough diamonds from Alrosa by the end of 2009. His comments are inline with previous reports that Gokhran’s annual budget for diamond purchases is about $1 billion.
“We're achieving several goals - we're topping the budget up at high [gold] prices and helping to develop industry by buying diamonds at low prices,” Kudrin said, adding, according to an Interfax report, that diamond prices were at a 15-year low.
The report further quotes Kudrin as saying that Gokhran is planning to buy diamonds for the repository “at roughly similar price volumes.”