Tietmeyer sceptical of IMF gold sales, talks
ongoing
03:25 p.m Mar 19, 1999 Eastern
BERLIN, March 19 (Reuters) - Bundesbank President Hans
Tietmeyer said on Friday that discussions about a possible sale of
IMF gold reserves to help poor countries were still going on and
that no decisions had been reached.
''That issue is still being discussed very carefully,'' Tietmeyer said
at a panel discussion in Berlin.
Tietmeyer also said he wanted to see the position the U.S
Congress would take on the issue.
Tietmeyer warned that an organistaion like the IMF had to be very
careful when considering to give up part of its assets.
''The gold is part of (the IMF's) standing, its credibility,''
Tietmeyer said. ''That is why you have to be so careful with the
issue of gold sales,'' he added.
Such a step could be taken only once and would change the
organisation's room for manouevre, Tietmeyer said.
U.S. President Bill Clinton suggested earlier this week a $70
billion programme of debt relief for developing countries, a scheme
which called on the IMF to sell a small portion of its $29 billion
gold stockpile.
Tietmeyer and the Bundesbank have been adamantly opposed to
any gold sale by the IMF in recent years. Tietmeyer has said
repeatedly in the past that in addition to harming the IMF's
credibility, gold sales could be inflationary and possibly drive
down global gold prices.
Analysts reckon, however, that the Bundesbank's stance is about
to soften, saying that probably not more than $1.5 billion to $3.0
billion worth of IMF gold would be sold. They say the figure
would be too small to fan global inflation.
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Copyright 1999 Reuters Limited. |
