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To: long-gone who wrote (14552)	7/16/1998 2:55:00 PM
From: Alex	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116756

Russian Plan to Use Palladium as Collateral Palladium Stats a State Secret MOSCOW -- (Reuters) Russia has worked out a procedure for using its reserves of the precious metal palladium as collateral for raising money quickly in an emergency, central bank chairman Sergei Dubinin said on Tuesday. "We have taken certain measures, worked out a mechanism and agreement on activating our metal reserves, not only of gold, which is easy to do, but also collateralizing other metals, in particular palladium and silver," Dubinin told a news briefing. "All this has been done in agreement with the government and the president, and clear limits have been laid down -- how much we can use palladium, for example, as collateral, and for what period," he added. Dubinin said using the metal as collateral would enable the bank to top up its hard currency reserves quickly in an emergency, although he said the bank was now selling rubles and buying hard currency from commercial banks, which he expected to continue. Palladium reserves are not included when assessing the value of Russia's gold and currency reserves. Dubinin emphasized that the collateral strategy had been carefully worked out so as not to destabilize the palladium market. Palladium production and exports in Russia are a closely guarded state secret. But a senior manager at the industrial group which controls Norilsk Nickel told Reuters recently that world palladium demand was around 450 tons a year, against supply of 225 tons. Palladium prices reached record highs of $417.00 an ounce earlier this year as Russia, which accounts for some two-thirds of total supply, has kept the metal off the market. On Tuesday it was fixed in London at $295 an ounce at 1400 GMT. Some palladium sponge has been sold, but contracts for palladium ingot sales have apparently not yet been signed. Persistent bureaucratic confusion has been blamed for Russia's failure to deliver stocks to markets. The metal is used in car exhaust catalysts and by the electronics industry. Russia Today, July 15, 1998