Financial Risk Manager

The International Monetary Fund said Wednesday it had sold 10 tonnes of gold to Sri Lanka's central bank for 375 million dollars, as part of a restructuring of IMF financial resources. It was the third IMF sale of gold in a month as the Washington-based institution seeks to reduce its dependence on lending revenue and bolster its finances amid the global economic crisis.

The IMF said the sale to the Central Bank of Sri Lanka was based on the market prices prevailing Monday. On November 2, the IMF said it had sold 200 tonnes of gold to India's central bank for 6.7 billion dollars. The fund announced on November 16 the sale of two tonnes of gold to Mauritius for 71.7 million dollars.

The IMF executive board approved in September the sale of 403.3 tonnes of gold. The fund, which currently holds roughly 3,000 tonnes of gold, is the world's third-largest official holder of the precious metal after the United States and Germany. The IMF said it would sell gold directly to central banks and other official holders for an initial period before selling the remaining amount on the open markets "in a phased manner over time."