Iran cenbank reports record sales in its gold auctions

The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) has reported a record sale in its last round of gold auctions held in the calendar year ending March 20.

CBI’s Center for Exchange of Currency and Gold (ICE) said on Saturday that investors had bought some 1.257 metric tons (mt) of standard gold bars during the 97^th round of gold auction held earlier in the day in the Center.

It said the figure was more than double a previous record of 567 kilograms, adding that sales had generated some 110 trillion rials ($120 million) in revenues.

The Center said that it had sold a total of 17.845 mt of gold worth more than 1,000 trillion rials during auctions held since mid-January.

The CBI has been importing record volumes of gold in the past two years amid US sanctions that have hampered its access to dollar-based banking services around the world.

Iranian customs office figures show that gold imports into the country have amounted to nearly $7 billion in the current calendar year. Officials in the country’s largest airport have also indicated that gold imports processed in the airport reached nearly 1 mt per day in recent weeks.

The CBI says it uses the gold auction proceeds to buy foreign currencies to finance imports and other needs of the country.

The ICE also said on Saturday that it had sold 12,449 bullion gold coins in the last round of auctions held this calendar year, generating more than 7,280 billion rials in revenues.

It said nearly a million gold coins, known as Bahar Azadi, had been sold during 82 rounds of auctions held in the Center since early March.

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