Venezuela Receives Last Shipment of Repatriated Gold Bars

Venezuela today received the last shipment of gold bars in an operation that repatriated 160 tons of the South American country’s reserves of the metal held abroad, said Nelson Merentes, president of the country’s central bank.
Fourteen tons of gold arrived at the Caracas airport today on a flight from Europe, Merentes said. The gold bars were transported in a caravan, broadcast on state television, to vaults at the central bank where street banners proclaimed “Mission Complete.”
“In two months, we’ve brought 160 tons of gold valued at around $9 billion back to Venezuela,” Merentes said on state television from the Caracas airport. “Today marks the last day of the mission.”
President Hugo Chavez in August ordered the central bank to repatriate the country’s gold reserves as a safeguard against instability in financial markets. The South American country, which has the 15th-largest holdings in the world, according to the World Gold Council, held 211 tons of its 365 tons of gold reserves in U.S., European and Canadian banks as of August.
Venezuela will leave about 15 percent of its reserves, or around 50 tons, outside of Venezuela for financial transactions, Merentes said today. He said on Jan. 3 that the country would leave 15 tons of gold in banks outside the country.
A central bank report released in August showed that Venezuela held gold reserves with the Bank of England, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Barclays Plc and Standard Chartered Plc among other banks.
“This was the largest type of operation to transport this type of metal in the last fifteen years,” said Merentes. “The repatriation of our gold was an act of financial prudence and sovereignty.”

 http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-31/venezuela-receives-last-shipment-of-repatriated-gold-bars-1-.html

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THE GOLD TREE - WHERE GOLD COMES FROM & WHERE IT GOES

Gold up 10% on Iran rumours - India, China may pay in bullion for Iran oil, Dollar under attack

Gold prices are currently trending around the $1,730 per ounce mark, within touching distance of their 60-day high of $1,747/oz, and up 10 per cent in the first 30 days of 2012.

Fuelling the bullion’s newfound drive are rumours that India and China, one of the world’s largest oil consumers, are secretly mulling paying in gold for Iranian oil, and bypassing a European Union (EU) oil embargo on Iran, effective from July 1, 2012.
The EU voted last Monday to ban oil imports from Iran. The move came after a defiant Iran announced earlier in January that it had launched a nuclear enrichment programme at a well-protected underground facility near the city of Qom.
Western nations suspect Iran, which is already under numerous international sanctions, of pursuing a secret nuclear weapons programme but Tehran insists it needs nuclear power solely for civilian purposes.

Nevertheless, the new EU sanctions are being seen as a way for the Western world to bring Iran to the negotiations table, but any move by China and India, which together purchase more than one-third of Iran’s oil, to bypass the sanctions will significantly reduce the EU’s negotiating prowess.

India, which has had traditionally friendly relations with Iran and has found a relatively new ally in the US, is in a precarious situation and has reportedly been working at finding a middle ground and strongly urging for a diplomatic solution.
Iran has already made numerous threats of closing the Strait of Hormuz, through which a large chunk of the world’s traded oil passes, in case new sanctions are followed through. Moreover, the head of Iran’s state oil company has said that the EU embargo on Iran’s oil exports will push world oil prices to $150 per barrel, something that the fragile world economy can ill-afford at this time.
Nonetheless, there are unsubstantiated rumours floating in the international market that India might have already concluded a swap arrangement by which the payment for Iranian crude will be made in rupees and partially in gold. Two banks have been mentioned in this context, the UCO Bank of India and the Turkish Bank Halk Bankasi.
Speculation is also rife that China, the No. 1 buyer of Iranian oil, may follow India’s lead. Together, the two nations account for over $30 billion in annual oil purchases from Iran, which would be a significant amount of gold replacing the dollar in trade.
These rumours, compounded by a simultaneous decline in the dollar’s value, has seen gold gallop by more than $165 an ounce in the past 30 days, and is currently hovering around $1,730 per ounce.
There is also the prospect of further quantitative easing in the US, with the Federal Reserve ready with additional cash-injections as and when required. Further stimulus by the Fed would be seen as a negative on US economic health and encourage inflation, pushing wary investors back to the safe haven refuge of gold.
That said, gold has seen its safe haven status diminish substantially in the recent past, declining 20 per cent from highs above $1,921 per ounce to lows of $1,520 per ounce in a little over three months last year. While these rumours are currently pushing prices back up, any resolution of the Greek debt crisis and the Iranian situation could as well see spot gold fall back to $1,500-levels.

http://www.emirates247.com/markets/gold/gold-up-10-on-iran-rumours-2012-01-30-1.440209

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Gold Is The Hottest Currency In The World

The price of gold is roaring back from its latest temporary correction, sending the bears into  full withdrawal. If you sold your gold in December as it fell to $1525 an ounce, you’re probably feeling foolish at the incredible $210  rise to $1735– a 15% move in no time at all.

Gold, you see, is not a commodity like oil and copper and wheat. It is rather an alternative currency– one that  finds buyers when paper currencies like the Euro are being hugely increased in supply by the ECB to forestall a sovereign cum bank crisis in Europe. There’s $650 billion in European bank and sovereign debt coming die  before March 31, 2012 which can be sopped up by the $650 billion  gift from ECB to the banks at the bargain rate of 1%.  And more available from the European central bank– Europe’s very own Quantitative Easing program.

As the supply of gold cannot keep up with paper money(supply increases very little despite exploration),  and it can be bought without loss of any real interest income, it seems clear t hat the gold bull market is alive and well.  Central banks obviously are of  the mind that gold’s rise will make up for t he decline in paper money and the lack of income on central bank liquid investments.
Then, too, the speculators already dumped 42% of their long positions between August and December, 2011 according to the High-Tech Strategist, a January 5, 2012 market letter by Fred Hickey that I strongly recommend. Hedge funds sold to meet redemptions. Hot money ran at warnings by technicians.
The truth is that the drop to $1525 in December triggered the renewed buying by the Chinese, who are the new incremental buyers   in the world. The Chinese prefer to buy on weakness and not compete with the central banks of Russia, Korea, Thailand,Singapore and are buying to hold.
Zhang Jianhua, the research bureau director of the People’s Bank of China,  was quoted in the POBC internal newspaper as insisting that “The Chinese government needs to further optimize China’s foreign exchange asset portfolioi and seek relatively low entry points to buy gold assets.”

Gold, apparently, is the Chinese priority for a “safe haven” when slow economic growth leads to widespread monetary easing and  fears of ultimate inflation. Gold more than stocks or bonds or real estate, is obviously seen as the preferred way to store wealth. In that sense the Chinese are way ahead of the US and Europe.
After all its moves in 2011 gold was still up about 11%– more than stocks any place, and only beaten by 10 year US treasuries.  Treasuries at 2% aren’t viewed as a reserve currency.  Gold is the hottest currency in the world. Just ask the Chinese.

LINK: http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertlenzner/2012/01/28/gold-is-the-hottest-currency-in-the-world/?partner=yahootix
http://golden-metal-investment.blogspot.com/

Gold, silver to cost more; govt changes duties to net Rs 600 crore

NEW DELHI: Gold and silver will become costlier with the government on Tuesday tweaking the customs and excise duty structure on precious metals, a step which will make government richer by Rs 600 crore in the next two-and-half months itself.

On account of changes in duty structure from specific to value-linked, traders said the gold will become expensive by about Rs 250 per 10 gm, silver by Rs 1,600 per kg and imported diamond by 2 per cent. Platinum too will cost more.

As per the changes, customs and excise duty will now be levied on the value of the precious metals instead of a fixed amount, meaning that the incidence of duty will move up with the rise in prices of the goods.

According to finance ministry notifications, the import duty on gold has been fixed at 2 per cent of the value, instead of the earlier rate of Rs 300 per 10 grams. On silver, the import duty has been pegged at 6 per cent against Rs 1,500 per kg earlier. The government has imposed import duty of 2 per cent on diamond.

With respect to excise, the duty on gold has been fixed at 1.5 per cent of the value against the earlier fixed rate of Rs 200 per 10 grams. Silver will attract excise of 4 per cent compared to a fixed duty of Rs 1,000 per kg.

"The old rates were fixed 4-5 years ago. In the last few years, prices have increased substantially so the change has been made to bring duties in line with market prices," Central Board of Excise and Customs ( CBEC) chairman S K Goel said.

India is the largest consumer of the yellow metal. With rising gold prices, its imports shot up by 54 per cent during the nine-month period ending December, 2011, to USD 45.5 billion (Rs 2.3 lakh crore).

Gold firmed up by Rs 35 to Rs 27,925 per 10 grams, while silver gained Rs 575 to Rs 52,725 per kg in bullion market here. 

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Mankad (Pune)
18 Jan, 2012 12:34 AM
This is not a good move. Government is discouraging savings. For all its faults, India has one major advantage over Western countries in that Indians are prone to save a lot and invest for their future. Investment in gold can be sold anyday to pay for retirement, children's education, marriage etc. Now by discouraging investment in gold government is beginning to tax family savings.

Naadodi (Chennai)
18 Jan, 2012 12:22 AM
If people are trying to save money through any investment, government will put some 'funda' on the investment so that people will loose more money. How people will save and survive? Government is making money out of people sweat instead of doing some good thing in India. Bravo Congress...

SR (columbus)
17 Jan, 2012 10:16 PM
Instead if they stop the black marketting of gold ..govt will get Rs 6000 crore more

Raaaj (Mumbai)
17 Jan, 2012 10:11 PM
This Govt. if full of IDIOTS !

bhushan (india)
17 Jan, 2012 10:02 PM
the govt could consider a new entertainment tax on all happy tunes ( there by the music industry will be encouraged to produce only sad songs/ music )

Mehul (USA)
17 Jan, 2012 09:57 PM
This is what I call penny wise and pound foolish. India is going to loose in Big way on exports ! God Save INDIA

dips (mumbai)
17 Jan, 2012 09:39 PM
Govt. will suck last blood out of middle class via the taxes it seems!! welcome to democracy!! LINK
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Gold-silver-to-cost-more-govt-changes-duties-to-net-Rs-600-crore/articleshow/11527332.cms  WWW.PRECIOUS-METAL-INVESTMENT.BLOGSPOT.COM