IMF to start sales of 191.3 tonnes of gold soon

The International Monetary Fund on Wednesday said it will shortly begin selling 191.3 tonnes of gold in the open market under a program approved last year to boost its resources for lending.

To avoid disruptions of the gold market, the IMF said the sales "will be conducted in a phased manner over time." The fund left the door open for central banks to keep buying the gold directly from the IMF.

The IMF announced last year it would sell a total of 403.3 tonnes of gold, about one-eighth of its total stock, to diversify its sources of income and increase low-cost lending to poor countries.