CHINA MAY BUY GOLD OFFERED BY IMF

       China may purchase some of the 403.3 metric tonnes of gold being offered by the International Monetary Fund, Market News International reported yesterday, citing two unidentified government sources.
       China will consider the purchase to diversify its reserves if the price is right and the potential return relatively high, the report said, citing one of the sources.
       There is no indication China is seeking to buy all of the gold on offer, it said, citing no one.
       The IMF board approved the sales, valued at about US$13 billion (Bt445 billion), pledging to avoid disrupting the market with the transactions and saying it would "stand ready to sell gold directly to central banks," according to a statement issued last Friday.
       An official at the People's Bank of China declined to comment.
       China, the world's biggest gold producer, has increased reserves by 76 per cent to 1,054 tonnes since 2003 and has the fifth-biggest holdings by country, Hu Xiaolian, head of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, said in April.
       China's foreign reserves, the world's largest, rose 9.1 per cent in the second quarter, climbing a record $178 billion, and totalled $2.13 trillion on June 30, according to the central bank. The bullion sales can occur any time, the IMF said. Selling directly to central banks, which have not yet expressed interest, would be faster, according to the IMF.
       Bullion for immediate delivery declined as much as 1.2 per cent in Singapore to a low of $995.97 an ounce, the first day it traded below $1,000 since September 15.
       It was priced at $999.30 ounce late afternoon in Singapore.
       China may double the ratio of its gold holdings to its foreign-currency reserves over five years, Sun Zhaoxue, chairman of the China Gold Association, said on May 15.
       The association "hopes" China will increase gold holdings to 3 per cent of foreign currency reserves in five years from 1.4 per cent now, Sun added.