Gold Market News , Chart

Persian Gold agrees Iran gold option deal
May 26, 2006 12:36

Persian Gold, the Irish based AIM listed Iranian gold explorer, has agreed an option deal in the Chah-e-Zard gold project. This is located in Yazd, some 350 miles southeast of Tehran.

If exercised, the option has an initial period of nine months and will allow Persian Gold to acquire a 70% interest in a new company to be established to hold the licence on the property. -source


Rio Tinto withdraws from Iran gold mine
May 24, 2006 - 9:39PM

Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto said it was pulling out of the Sari Gunay gold mining project in western Iran after deciding it was not commercially viable. - source

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Iran daily Gold Prices

Intresting Perspective / Case study :

Mon, Apr 24, 2006

source: http://iran-daily.com/1385/2544/html/focus.htm

Gold Prices

The latest open market (unofficial) rates for major foreign currencies and prices of gold have shown huge increases since the beginning of the new Iranian year (started March 20, 2006).

For instance, the price of the full Bahar-e Azadi (old) gold coin reached 1,830,000 rials, followed by full Bahar-e Azadi (new) at 1,680,000 rials; half Bahar-e Azadi, 810,000 rials; and quarter Bahar-e Azadi 405,000 rials. In addition, gold prices also saw a significant growth, with 0.750 or 18 ct Methqal at 638,250 rials, and 0.750 or 18 ct Gram at 138,500 rials.

According to Donyaye Eqtesad, the above-mentioned figures suggest the old full Bahar-e Azadi gold coin saw some 16 percent increase within a few days in the last week of the current year. In fact, the world prices of gold saw just 1.5 percent increase whereas it was 16 percent for the full Bahar-e Azadi gold coin in Iran. Similarly, the price of gold coin in Iran was just 149,000 rials at the end of last year, but reached 195,000 rials at the beginning of this year, which means that it went up by 31 percent!

This is amid the fact that the price of one ounce gold was just $554 at the end of last year. It further reveals that the price of one ounce gold also underwent a 10-percent increase.
The huge difference between the prices of gold in Iran and those in the international markets show that although world prices of gold have gone up, they have no bearing on the significant increase in the price of gold in Iran, which has gone up for other reasons in the domestic market.

What can be the possible explanation for such a huge difference and who is behind it?
The first explanation for the sudden jump in gold prices in Iran could be that it follows the fluctuations of gold prices in world markets. The second cause, that is the pressure of demand, plays a far more significant role in creating such a huge difference. But what could have possibly caused such a demand in the Iranian markets?
The increase in the prices of crude oil in the international markets has led to a massive increase in government revenues and its current costs. This has, as a result, led to an increase in the volume of liquidity.

At a time when the housing market remains in recession and not much is going on in the stock market, the safest way to absorb the liquidity is the gold market. The initial increase in the prices of gold in the Iranian market - because of market fluctuations abroad - got the attention of market players. The initial growth encouraged them to buy more gold, and this, as a consequence, pushed up prices even further and far beyond those in the world markets.

The big question is whether such fluctuation in the gold market is in line with the government slogan of social justice for all?
No doubt, the current situation in the gold market does not bode well for the officials, but then again it is the direct result of their policies, which have increased current costs and contributed to liquidity growth.
Government officials should take note that they are not in a position to control all aspects of the market economy. They also need to ensure that their policies for a specific market will not cause trouble for other markets. "

Gold , Silver Charts update , Iran CB

Interesting news coming from Iran:

Iran central bank moves to calm gold rush
Khaleej Times, (AFP)
19 April 2006

TEHERAN - Iran’s Central Bank moved on Wednesday to slow down a sharp rise in the price of gold, state television said on Wesdnesday, as traders spoke of increased public demand due to tensions over the Islamic republic’s nuclear programme.

The price of a gold coin weighing around 10 grammes (about a third of an ounce) reached 1.85 million rials (about 202 dollars) late Tuesday, a 25 percent surge on prices two weeks ago.

Following the Central Bank move to supply more coins -- which many Iranian prefer to buy rather than place cash in a bank -- prices fell back to 164 dollars.

“The price increase in is line with the rise in international prices, but there is an additional psychological factor here,” gold coin trader Javad Zargar told AFP.

He said demand spiked following last week’s announcement by hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that Iran had succesfully eneriched uranium -- despite a UN Security Council call for a freeze of the sensitive nuclear work. -source

The Islamic Republic of Iran & Gold

Iran denies Swiss paper's claim in withdrawal of Gold assets
Tehran, March 31, IRNA
Iran-Swiss-Gold
An informed source in Central Bank of Iran on Friday denied the news published in a Swiss daily on withdrawal of 250 tons of Iran's gold reserves from that country's Credit Bank.
The Central Bank official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the Economy Desk at IRNA Head office in Tehran Desk, "The news published in the Thursday edition of the Bern-based daily Der Bund, on Iran's withdrawal of 250 tons of its gold reserves, worth five billion Swiss francs, and transferring them to Tehran is totally baseless." Der Bund had added in its story that apparently Iran has ever since last October withdrawn 700 tons of its gold reserves, worth sixteen billion Swiss franks, from various Western monetary funds and transferred them to other unknown destinations. Source
According to the CIA World Fact book Iran is holding $40.06 billion (2005 est.) reserves of foreign exchange and gold.


RTS to launch commodity futures trading in May
18:24 | 03/ 04/ 2006

MOSCOW, April 3 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian Trading System (RTS) stock exchange will launch commodity futures trading, including precious metals, agricultural products and petroleum products, in May, the RTS president said Monday.

"We consider futures on gold, agricultural products and metals very promising," Oleg Safonov said.

He told a roundtable that the country's main stock exchange was seeking to allow its clients to trade commodities and that all the necessary related documents had been submitted to the Federal Service for Financial Markets.

Safonov said the RTS would coordinate basic prices with international agencies, that commodity derivatives were a priority, and that the futures market would be developed within an existing segment of FORTS, the RTS derivatives market.

Safonov said the RTS was also planning to launch futures contracts on a short term interest rates by June 1.

"We want to launch this kind of futures contract relatively quickly," he said.

source



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