Romania's Central Bank Governor Stands By The Gold Reserve

Romania's Central Bank Governor Mugur Isarescu showed around a group of media leaders into the Central Bank's underground safe keeping the national stash of gold, after various public statements targeted the national gold reserves.

One such allegation was that the gold had been shipped out of Romania; the other damaging comment, to Isarescu's years, was the call for the gold reserves to be used to cover for the country's budget deficit as a replacement for the Government strategy to cut civil servants salaries by 25%.

Isarescu explained there was no way he will agree with using the gold reserves to patch the government deficit. "Anyway, the whole gold stash will suffice to cover the deficit for one year only. After that year passes, what should we do? It is clear that the answer lies with finding other methods, systemic and economic ones to balance the budget deficit," Isarescu said.

On the issue of allegations that the gold reserves had vanished, Isarescu said: "I called around 20 leaders of media outlets and showed them around in the treasury rooms, and let them touch the gold to be able to say: yes, it is ... (because) the rumors that the Central Bank had taken out of the Romania the country's gold reserves are very dangerous," he added.

He explained that Romania keeps part of its gold with the Bank for International Settlement, but that most of the country's gold stays in the Central Bank underground floors.
"The gold reserves stay there to give confidence in the country and its national currency," Isarescu said.

Romania's gold reserves on June 30 was at 103.7 tons, or 3.372 billion Euro, placing it in the first ten countries in the world in the roster of per capita gold reserves.
One gram of gold cost Wednesday 128.4481 lei, down 2.06 lei from a day before.
Translated by AAP