Swiss central bank pledges to continue gradual gold sales
GENEVA, Jun 15, 2000 (AP WorldStream via COMTEX) -- Switzerland's central bank pledged Thursday to continue selling small amounts of gold at regular intervals, to avoid causing sharp price movements in the market.
"We have decided against selling gold unannounced and against forward sales that would only become known after having been completed," Swiss National Bank Vice-President Jean-Pierre Roth told the bank's semi-annual news conference.
Roth reaffirmed the bank's aim to put a maximum of 120 metric tons on the market by the end of September. The bank initiated the sale May 1, when Switzerland's new currency and payment law came into effect.
By June 9, it had sold 35 tons from its gold reserves - an average of 1.15 tons per day.
The government plans to use 1,300 tons of gold - half of the central bank's 2,600 tons of reserves - to underpin the Swiss franc, and has designated the other 1,300 tons as surplus.
In a referendum in April last year, Swiss voters approved a new constitution which ended the traditional requirement for the Swiss franc to be backed by gold.
Officials have consistently promised that Switzerland will conduct its sales gradually, without disrupting the gold market. The sale is to be staggered over several years.
Copyright 2000 Associated Press, All rights reserved
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