IMF announces gold sales, prices fall, rise

Well, it looks as though the gold price is now recovering nicely from the announcement yesterday by the IMF (International Monetary Fund) that they intend to sell another 191 tonnes of gold bullion on the open market.

A graphic depiction of the damage that was done yesterday is shown below from this item at the International Business Times, but, since this chart was created last night, the gold price has risen smartly back up to almost $1,120 an ounce.
Data from Kitco shows that the gold price dipped about $10 an ounce in the span of about 15 or 20 minutes immediately following the after-hours news release, to as low as about $1,097 an ounce. But, like the many other times that the IMF has announced gold sales, fear of flooding the market and depressing prices appears to be fleeting.

The most recent announcement is part of a program that was approved last fall to sell 403 tonnes of gold bullion and this follows the surprising move by the Reserve Bank of India a few months ago to buy almost the entire first half of the overall sale.

For years, the threat of IMF gold sales has been hanging over the market and what happens with the 191 tonnes now offered up for sales could have a big impact on the gold price. While the sales are to be "phased in" over time, the IMF is still open to off-market sales and many believe that an Asian central bank such as China would be a willing buyer at lower prices.