"Private investment demand for gold bars and bullion coins has more than
doubled in 1997, as gold prices have tumbled to their lowest level in 18
years, but the economics of the gold market now suggest higher prices
may not be far away,..."
biz.yahoo.com
Italian hoax
Eurostat says examining Italian gold transaction
Reuters, Thursday, December 11, 1997 at 08:37
BRUSSELS, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Eurostat, the European
Commission's accounting arm, said on Thursday it was studying an
internal gold transaction by the Italian government but had
reached no conclusions.
"We are analysing the dossier and awaiting more details from
the Italian government," a spokesman for Luxembourg-based
Eurostat told Reuters.
He added he could give no details of the transaction and
until the last few days only had Italian press reports to go on.
According to Italian media, state coffers have been boosted
by a Treasury decision to take around 3.7 trillion lire from a
one-off gain on an internal gold transaction.
Reports say the Italian Exchange Office transferred 540
tonnes of gold from its books onto Bank of Italy accounts. The
gold had been handed to the exchange office (UIC) by the central
bank in 1976 to secure a German loan.
Although the loan was repaid in 1978, the gold remained in
the UIC and is now worth some seven trillion lire more than in
1976. The Treasury taxed the one-off gain at the going rate of
53.2 percent.
brussels.newsroom@reuters.com))
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