UK's gold auction under fire
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LONDON The World Gold Council has condemned Wednesday's gold auction by the UK as "a disaster for both the British taxpayer and the international gold market".
Council CE Haruko Fukuda said Wednesday's result also "shows that the chosen method of sale, via very high-profile auctions occurring at regular, bimonthly intervals, serves only to depress market sentiment."
Through the auction, the Bank of England sold 803600 ounces of UK treasury-auctioned gold at $279,75/oz. The bank got bids for 1046400 ounces of gold but allotted only the expected 803600 ounces, or about 25 tons, at the "lowest accepted price" as planned.
"This proves what we have been saying all along. The government is engaged in a giveaway of (a) cornerstone of the UK's economic sovereignty.
"Just look at the figures: in the morning's London fix, gold was at $282,85/oz, and the government then sold 25 tons at 279,75/oz, $3,10 below the fix. The government has lost almost 2,5m of taxpayers' money in the space of one hour," Fukuda said.
"If the UK government insists on selling British gold, the UK should follow Switzerland's example and use the Bank for International Settlements or sell through the London gold fix," Fukuda said. BridgeNews. |
