Gold rises as IMF hints at U-turn

THE GOLD price rose almost $1 yesterday after the International Monetary Fund hinted at a reversal of plans to sell 300 tonnes of reserves to fund a pounds 27bn debt relief programme. During a visit to South Africa, Stanley Fischer, IMF deputy managing director, said he was looking at ways to avoid gold sales, but said he could not rule them out until an alternative was found.

Opponents of the plan, which include many southern African nations, hope to persuade Congress in Washington to use the US's decisive 17 per cent of the IMF vote to block it. Gold closed in London at $256.90 an ounce, up from $255.80 on Friday.