INDIA BUYS 200 TONS OF GOLD
MARKETSCOPE: India, the world's biggest gold consumer, bought 200 tons from the International Monetary Fund for $6.7 billion as central banks show increased interest in diversifying their holdings to protect against a slumping dollar. The transaction, equivalent to 8% of world annual mine production, was the IMF's first such sale in nine years and propels India to the ninth-biggest government owner globally, according to figures from London-based research company GFMS Ltd. The country previously held 358 tons, the data show. The news was a "surprise because everybody was talking about China being the buyer," said James Moore, an analyst at TheBullionDesk.com. The IMF sale accounts for almost half the 403.3 metric tons that the Washington-based lender in September agreed to sell as part of a plan to shore up its finances and lend at reduced rates to low-income countries. Asian nations, which have amassed stockpiles of foreign currency reserves since the 1998 financial crisis, have shown increased interest in diversifying out of U.S. assets as the dollar loses value against other currencies.-