Reserves
Forex reserves hit record high in South Korea
South Korea's foreign exchange reserves hit a record high in January, helped by the government's continued dollar buying.
Chavez presses Venezuela's cen bank on funds
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez repeated on Sunday 1 February demands that that the central bank complete its commitments to release reserves to finance the state revival of the nation's flagging farm industry.
Tanigaki says Japan could increase gold holdings
Japan's Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki said in response to a parliamentary question that Japan may consider increasing its gold reserves to bring them more into line with levels elsewhere.
Russia sees gold and forex reserves increase
Russia's gold and foreign exchange reserves have reached a record-high of 82.7 billion dollars, official figures from the central bank of Russia showed on Thursday 29 January..
Iraq to talk debt with G-7 and IMF
Top finance officials from Iraq and Afghanistan will meet next month with their counterparts from the G7 industrial countries and Russia to report on progress in reconstruction.
Report says Bundesbank wants 600 tonnes gold sale
A report said Germany's Bundesbank has registered its intention to sell a total of 600 tonnes of gold over the next five years.
Venezuela's central bank under pressure
This article looks at the position of the central bank of Venezuela (BCV) following calls from President Hugo Chavez to hand over $1 billion from its reserves. Chavez has called it 'absurd' and 'crazy' for the reserves just to sit in the bank, and…
Venezuela's central bank defies Chavez
Venezuela's central bank is examining ways in which it can deflect controversial demands from president Hugo Chavez to hand over $1bn of its foreign reserves for what could be a public spending spree.
BOJ bought Y1.9100 trn shares from banks to 10 Jan
The Bank of Japan said on Wednesday it had bought a total of 1.9100 trillion yen ($17.98 billion) of shares held by Japanese banks by January 10 under its programme aimed at reducing the banks' exposure to stock market volatility.
BoJ may ease rules on asset-backed securities
Proposed rule changes to the Bank of Japan's asset-backed securities purchase will be on the agenda for discussion when the BoJ Policy Board convenes on Jan 19-20.
Venezuelan president threatens to take over c bank
On Wednesday 7 January Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez threatened to take over the country's independent central bank if it did not agree to his demand to hand over $1 billion in reserves to finance farming projects.
Uganda's central bank suffers unprecedented loss
The central bank of Uganda says it made a loss of Shs 7.7 billion in the year to June 30 2003 as a result of low returns from its investments abroad.
Swiss National Bank given freedom to invest
Under the new Swiss National Bank (SNB) statute, the SNB will be allowed to invest in a far-wider range of assets.
Dollar fall to hit central bank profits
The strength of the euro against the dollar is proving a double-edged sword for Europe's central bankers. The decline in the value of the dollar against the euro is likely to eat into the earnings of the central banks of Germany, Austria and the…
India's foreign exchange reserves top $100 bn
India's foreign exchange reserves broke through the $100 billion mark for the first time, on the back of investment and trade flows and the dollar's weakness against other currencies.
Korean central bank OKs reserves proposal
The Bank of Korea said on Thursday 11 December that it would agree to requests by the government to entrust part of the central bank's foreign exchange reserves to a newly proposed state-managed agency, according to a report by joonjang Ilbo. The bank…
CNB governor Tuma says Czech FX reserves too high
Czech National Bank governor Zdenek Tuma said on Wednesday 10 December that Czech foreign currency reserves are too high and were not expected to fall significantly in the near future, reports Interfax. According to Tuma, the central bank cannot reduce…
Gold investors hope for new central bank accord
Since 1999 the gold price has soared by more than 39 per cent even as European central banks have sold more than 1 594 tons of bullion from their reserves. But what those central banks do next could determine where gold goes from here, reports Bloomberg.
Official gold sales may rise - ex BIS FX head
A renewal of the Central Bank Gold agreement - which runs out in September 2004 - could raise the amount sold by 20%, according to the former head of foreign exchange and gold at the Bank for International Settlements.
Korean cb, government differ on reserve management
A Korean presidential committee has said it will grant a soon-to-be-established corporation management control over about $20 billion in foreign reserves despite objections from the Bank of Korea, according to the Korea Herald. The BOK argued that the…
Venezuela announces more flexible currency control
President of the central bank of Venezuela, Domingo Maza Zavala, has said that currency controls would be made "substantially" more flexible for the new year, reports VenezuelAnalysis.
BOJ falls into red for first time in over 30 years
The Bank of Japan said on Thursday 27 November that it made a loss in the April-September period for the first time in 30 years, according to Reuters. The main reason for the loss was the rise in long-term yields which resulted in a 793.8 billion yen…
SARB increases dollar buying
The South African Reserve Bank said in a statement released on Friday 28 November that it increased its purchase of US dollars during November, Business Africa reports. SARB governor Tito Mboweni emphasised that these operations represented normal…
Portugal may join budget deficit breakers
Portugal's central bank has announced that its deficit will exceed the EU's 3 per cent limit, under the growth and stability pact, according to a report by EU Politix. The bank said it would probably run a deficit in excess of 4 per cent, due to the…