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Gold/Mining/Energy : Gold Price Monitor -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: goldworldnet who wrote (67099)	4/5/2001 12:46:12 PM
From: Rarebird	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116972

Deep down we all know that the first great gift a person can bestow on others is a good example. A Winner has no need to insult or retaliate; for he or she is possessed with the humility of victory.

To: goldworldnet who wrote (67099)	4/5/2001 12:48:34 PM
From: ahhaha	Respond to of 116972

Warm milk is nice.

To: goldworldnet who wrote (67099)	4/5/2001 1:27:27 PM
From: Crimson Ghost	Respond to of 116972

I just put Ahaha on ignore. The first time I have done this.

To: goldworldnet who wrote (67099)	4/5/2001 5:10:01 PM
From: long-gone	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116972

MARKETWATCH UPDATE 1-Austria sells 30 tonnes of gold reserves 4/5/2001 11:20:00 AM (adds analyst comment, background detail throughout) By Peter Nestler and Amanda Cooper VIENNA/LONDON April 5 (Reuters) - The Austrian National Bank said on Thursday it had sold 30 tonnes of gold, ending intense market speculation about who was behind sales that came to light in European Central Bank figures on Wednesday. Rudolf Trink, head of the Austrian National Bank's Treasury Department, told Reuters the sales brought to 60 tonnes the amount recently sold by the bank. Trink declined to specify the timing of the sales. "The gold sale did not take place yesterday and you have to bear in mind the possibility of futures transactions," he said. He said the bullion may have been sold in tranches, saying "different maturities are possible in futures transactions." The sales were announced as part of the 1999 Washington Accord, under which 15 European central banks agreed to limit their gold sales and lending to 400 tonnes a year and to a total of 2,000 tonnes over five years. At the time, Austria said it planned to sell a total of 90 tonnes over the five-year period. "It had to be Austria by a process of elimination," said analyst Andy Smith of Mitsui. Given that the sales already planned for this fiscal year by four of the signatories had exhausted the quota set by the accord, which was spearheaded by ECB chief Wim Duisenburg, there was no further scope for a new seller, Smith said. "We've got 200 tonnes coming from the Swiss, another 135 tonnes from the UK, which leaves 65 tonnes. Austria sold 30 tonnes in the last Duisenburg year, which leaves 35 tonnes for the Netherlands, so there is no more room for another name." "This is a forward sale, which is fantastic. If everyone else in the market is doing the same thing, it would be foolish to do otherwise," Mitsui's Smith said. "If the miners have hedge books, why should the central banks have any qualms about playing the same game?" The gold market has already absorbed 100 tonnes of gold from the Netherlands since December 1999, the first tranche of a Dutch plan to sell 300 tonnes over the five years. The Swiss National Bank is in the midst of selling 1,300 tonnes of excess gold reserves, while the UK is over half way through a programme of regular auctions to cut its holdings by around 395 tonnes. The gold price is under constant pressure -- not just from central bank disposals, but also from producer forward selling. Britain's transparent auction method attracts criticism from the market as it drives down the price, but the Bank of England has stook its ground and refused to use another method. Both the Swiss and the Austrians have used the Bank of International Settlements in some of their sales. The Swiss have now switched to selling on the market with institutional partners, while the Austrians did not disclose what method they used. Spot gold <XAU=> remained relatively untroubled, losing only narrow ground to $257.90/258.40 a troy ounce in the wake of the annoucement from Vienna, down from the afternoon fixing in London at $258.10. Whether this sale by the Austrians will encourage other official players to follow remains to be seen, but Smith said gold was unlikely to get any respite from keen sellers. "As far as I know, there are no gold miners signed up to the Duisenburg accord, so yes, there will be other sellers. As long as the Duisenburg queue remains orderly, then that will leave scope for others to be less orderly," he said. Rtr 11:20 04-05-01 www2.marketwatch.com;