http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-04/11/content_2812452.htm www.chinaview.cn 2005-04-11 08:46:51
BEIJING, April 11 -- Bank of France Governor Christian Noyer said he has "no special plan to modify the composition" of the central bank's foreign-exchange reserves this year as the bank sells gold to buy currencies.
"We're just adapting to the evolution I signaled between gold and currencies," Noyer, 54, said in an interview in Paris on Friday. The institution's foreign-currency reserves "are historically mainly in US dollars" with a "little historical diversification in other currencies."
The euro's 44 per cent gain against the dollar since 2001 has prompted speculation that central banks may lower dollar holdings to increase returns.
The South Korean central bank, for example, said on February 22 it plans to buy more non-dollar assets with new reserves.
The Bank of France sold 40 metric tons of gold in the fourth quarter of last year as part of a plan to sell as much as 600 tons over five years, Noyer told the press earlier on Friday.
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