Gold
Cyprus gold still in play to help fund troika bailout
First review finds good progress made in repairing the Cypriot financial sector; central bank will take on a wider supervisory role but may have to sell gold to contribute to the country's bail-out
Reserve Bank of India currency measures may have limited impact on rupee
Moves to halt falling rupee may have unintended consequences, according to rating agencies; volatility is expected to continue
People: Bank of Russia deputy joins government; Bank of Lithuania appoints deputy chair
Bank of Russia's first deputy chairman appointed as economic development minister; former Lithuanian finance minister moves to central bank as Darius Petrauskas departs; Kevin Feldman joins WGC
India issues inflation-indexed bonds to curb gold imports
India's debut issuance of inflation-linked bonds four times over-subscribed despite the launch coming as wholesale price inflation has tapered off; could be credit negative for India
Italians back using gold reserves to lower funding costs
A survey commissioned by the World Gold Council finds that Italians would support the creation of gold-backed bonds; sovereign bond yields fall further as new government is formed
SNB's Jordan slams gold referendum
Thomas Jordan says limiting Swiss National Bank's control over gold reserves would be ‘detrimental to Switzerland'; reveals location of holdings in face of public pressure
Turkish banks face larger bill for holding forex and gold
Central bank increases price of holding gold and foreign exchange for Turkish banks who want to diversify reserve holdings away from Turkish lira
Swiss National Bank faces referendum over gold sales
Politicians seek to prevent SNB from selling gold and force the central bank to hold 20% of assets in the precious metal via a public referendum
Gold should dominate RMB in central bank reserves, says WGC
World Gold Council encourages central banks – particularly in emerging market economies – to diversify into gold ahead of RMB and other ‘alternative’ currencies
Kyrgyzstan's Asankojoeva weighs emerging stability threats
Governor of the Kyrgyz central bank talks of efforts to maintain stability in the face of corruption, limited financial inclusion and a spat over the Kumtor gold mine
World gold demand drops despite increased central bank purchases
Central bank purchases in 2012 reach highest level in 48 years, but Indian contraction leads global demand fall
Gold is no inflation hedge, says RBI deputy
Kamalesh Chandra Chakrabarty disputes status of gold as a safe asset or hedge against inflation, arguing that as the gold price increases, so do risks
Bundesbank to bring gold back home
Bundesbank will move 674 tonnes of Germany’s gold reserves, currently held in New York and Paris, to vaults in Frankfurt by 2020
Brazil increases gold holdings by 90% in three months
Central Bank of Brazil adds 31.9 tonnes of gold to its reserves between September and November; could indicate a desire to diversify away from the dollar
RBI report condemns ‘excessive’ gold demand
Reserve Bank of India working group recommends gold imports are reduced to protect the country’s balance of payments and currency reserves
Peru annual report shows declining dollar share of reserves
Greenback’s share of central bank’s reserves declined from 64% to 57% of portfolio in 2011 as a result of diversification strategy
Experts advocate replacing OMTs with gold-backed bonds
Using gold as collateral for sovereign debt could circumvent concerns about fiscal transfers associated with ECB’s OMT programme, panellists say at World Gold Council briefing
Korea boosts gold holdings by 20%
Central bank purchases $780 million of gold; total stock of 85 tonnes worth $3.76 billion
Central bank gold purchases slow in third quarter
Growth of net central bank gold holdings in third quarter remains positive but decelerates compared with similar period in 2011; year-to-date holdings up 9%
Ballooning balance sheet yields further ‘profit’ for SNB
Swiss National Bank’s profits show continued growth in third quarter with the largest contribution from foreign exchange holdings; balance sheet has increased 45% during the year
Dutch gold also unverified
Central banks with second, third and ninth largest gold holdings in the world admit to not physically verifying overseas gold; but some host central banks do not allow external auditors into vaults
Bundesbank reveals specific location details of gold holdings
New details of the Bundesbank’s foreign gold holdings released as Bank of Italy admits also not physically verifying gold held overseas despite having world’s third largest gold reserves
Bundesbank under pressure over $172bn gold inventory
German Federal Court of Auditors calls on Bundesbank to check gold held at Federal Reserve, Bank of England and Banque de France; Bundesbank to move 150 tonnes back to Germany over next three years
Bank of Mauritius to offer gold as public savings tool
Mauritians will soon be able to purchase gold bars from the central bank as part of an effort to promote a 'savings culture' in the country