Based on a joint scheme launched by the Security and Exchange Organization and the Central Bank of Iran, gold coin presale bonds can be traded in the bourse from Sunday, which can also be sold as gold coins at exchange shops at the time of maturity.
According to CBI Secretary-General Mahmoud Ahmadi, as part of the gold coin presale scheme, 7.6 million coins have been offered between February and early May.
Ahmadi hoped that as these coins gradually flow into the market, bullish prices will be "moderated", CBI's website reported.
"With regard to the ongoing volatility in the gold coin market, CBI, in collaboration with SEO, will make it possible for all the receipts of presold coins to not only satiate the demand for gold coins, but also to strengthen the supply side," he said.
Ahmadi said CBI is committed to deliver all the presold coins, but added that the bank is equally ready to make the coins liquid before their maturity arrives by letting investors sell their coins on the stock market.
The decision to launch gold presales at attractive prices was taken in late February when a foreign exchange rally swept the markets and spilled over into the gold market. Before that, CBI tried to calm the market through a series of gold coin auctions at attractive prices.
The measures, of course, proved ineffective as a fresh rally gripped the market in the early days of the new Iranian year, sending the rial to another record low against the dollar–a rally accompanied by other all-time highs for the gold coin.
The benchmark Bahar Azadi coin continued to surge in the ensuing week, reaching an all-time high of 30 million rails ($714 at the official exchange rate) before losing some ground later in the week.
Ahmadi also denied media reports that a majority of gold coins have been bought by a wealthy minority, allowing them to pocket huge profits and said the top 50 individuals who bought the most coins only account for 5% of the total purchased coins.
This week Nasser Seraj, the head of the Inspectorate Organization–a judiciary-affiliate watchdog, criticized the way the gold presale scheme was launched and revealed that one person alone had bought 38,250 coins, allowing him to make astronomical gains quickly.
Fresh Forex Injection
Amir Mohammad Parhamfar, the head of the Office for Combating Currency Smuggling and Money Laundering, said on Friday the government had given petrochemical firms six months to bring their foreign currency earnings into the Integrated Forex Deals System ( known as Nima) and thereby make it available for importers of vital goods to buy their currency at the official rate of 42,000 rials.
"These firms have so far deposited $2 billion into Nima but $10 billion remain due," Parhamfar told ISNA.
According to the current multi-tier scheme, imports will receive their needed foreign currency at different rates, based on their priority where the least important class of imported goods, which the government has deemed "luxurious", will face an outright ban.
The volatility in forex and gold markets has been traced both to government's unsound decisions and uncertainty over the future of Iran nuclear deal.
US President Donald Trump pulled out of the international nuclear deal with Iran on May 8 and said he would reimpose sanctions within 180 days, prompting several European companies to announce they would end business with Tehran before the Nov. 4 deadline.
