Bundesbank Opposes Gold Reserves Sale

Germany's national bank, the Bundesbank said Monday it firmly opposed the idea that the International Monetary Fund sell some of its gold reserves to finance debt relief for some of the world's poorest nations as proposed by Britain. "We've always pointed out that the IMF is not a development aid institution and that its general funds stemming from central banks' monetary reserves should not be used for development aid projects," a Bundesbank spokesman said, confirming a corresponding report published in the Monday edition of the daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. The German central bank's position appears therefore to be opposed to that of the German government, which, according to an article in the weekly magazine Der Spiegel, is in favor of a proposal by British finance minister Gordon Brown that the IMF sell some of its gold reserves to help ease Third World debt. Group of Seven (G7) finance ministers are set to discuss the idea head of the upcoming IMF and World Bank meeting on April 16.