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

To: Alex who wrote (16052)	8/18/1998 7:24:00 AM
From: long-gone	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 116815

Alex, glad you posted the bit from Tice, it is great. Did you catch him on CNBC yesterday? He was saying that everyone investing now could expect at least 5 years to get enough of their money back to be just back to even. rh

To: Alex who wrote (16052)	8/18/1998 7:34:00 PM
From: goldsnow	Respond to of 116815

Palladium falls on Russia news, gold wobbles 06:46 a.m. Aug 18, 1998 Eastern LONDON, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Palladium fell while gold softened then recovered on Tuesday after Russia's central bank said it was using precious metals to support its embattled currency. London bullion dealers expressed little surprise at Russia's move, which some said would have only a limited effect on gold given the weight of short positions already put in place by investment funds. ''They do have supposed stockpiles of precious metals and they do need the cash. The problem for them is finding a bank which is prepared to do business with them,'' said one London dealer, who added that gold sales or swaps could already have taken place. ''I would imagine that some of it is in play right now,'' he said. Spot gold dropped just 40 cents after remarks by Central Bank Deputy Chairman Sergei Aleksashenko that Russia was using all instruments to support the rouble, including its gold and other precious metals reserves. Gold then recovered to be last unchanged versus New York's close at $284.90/$285.40 an ounce. Spot palladium, a less liquid market than gold and currently trading on a $10.00 spread between bid and offer prices, suffered a sharper reverse, falling $4.00 after the news to be last at $278.00/$288.00 versus $280.00/$290.00 at New York's close. Aleksashenko, asked by Reuters whether the Russian central bank was going to use gold and other precious metals to support the rouble, said, ''Gold is an instrument to support the rouble. We are using all the instruments available to us.'' He gave no further details. Russia's government and central bank announced on Monday a series of policy measures intended to stave off its deepening financial crisis, including wider fluctuation bands for the rouble and a planned restructuring of debt to December 31, 1999. ''It's just another piece of bearish news. What seems to be the case is that the funds have got even shorter in the last couple of weeks to almost an untenable position,'' the dealer said. ''It's not going to have a major impact,'' said another, who cited the credit risk question and the weight of short positions as brakes on further falls. Another dealer cited confusion over the Russian central bank's gold policy as a reason for the muted market reaction. ''Whether they decide to lend gold or to sell, it's very difficult to know what the central bank policy is. No one has any idea what Russia will do and until we find out, this news is neither bullish nor bearish,'' she said. London gold fixed at $284.40 in the morning, up on the previous afternoon's $284.15, having fallen back from the peak of $285.50 hit during late U.S. trade on Monday. Palladium's immediate fall could also be short-lived, said one of the dealers, who said the greater concern was whether Russia could honour platinum group metal (PGM) supply contracts during the rest of the year. ''''The main worry for the market is on the PGMs side, whether the economic turmoil does lead to problems of shipment. So far this is has not happened but you never know with the Russians,'' she said. Platinum was last higher at $367.00/$369.00 versus New York's Monday close of $363.10/$365.10 while silver was three cents lower at $5.10/$5.12. ((Patrick Chalmers, London Newsroom +44 171 542 8057. london.commodities.desk+reuters.com)) Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited.