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UPDATE 1-European central banks strike new gold deal
(Adds quote from statement, background)
BASEL, Switzerland, March 8 (Reuters) - Europe's central banks said on Monday
they had reached a new deal that raises their limits on annual gold sales,
capping total sales at 500 metric tons per year for the next five years.
The new accord will start in September 2004, replacing the 1999 gold agreement
that expires on that date and had capped gold sales at 400 tonnes per year, the
central banks said.
The UK said it would not take part in the new programme because Britain did not
intend to sell any gold during the period covered by the deal.
The agreement was announced on the sidelines of the Group of 10 meeting of
central bankers from top industrialised nations and emerging markets.
"Gold will remain an important element of global monetary reserves," the joint
statement by 14 central banks and the European Central Bank said.
Gold prices at first eased a little after the announcement and then steadied in
its narrow trading range of the day at $399.50.
The last agreement, signed in 1999 and due to expire in September, caps sales at
400 tonnes per year or 2,000 tonnes over the life of the five-year accord.
The 1999 agreement, struck when gold was sinking sharply as the precious metal
lost allure during the internet and new economy era, helped stabilise the price
of gold.
Before the new deal was struck, the Bundesbank, the world's second largest
holder of central bank gold, had said it had requested an option to sell 600
tonnes.