Daily Gold Update

Source: Marketwatch

New York— Gold futures dropped Monday after a senior Treasury official said that the U.S. supports the proposed sale of a part of the gold reserves held by the International Monetary Fund. Gold for April delivery fell $7.30 to end at $940.50 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

David H. McCormick, under secretary for international affairs at the Treasury Department, said Monday that the Bush administration considers the plan to sell 12.9 million ounces of gold as "probably the most viable" option to ensure the long-term funding of the IMF, Dow Jones Newswires reported Monday. McCormick said that there is "some confidence that there will be some support for this" among members of the U.S. Congress and "broad-based support" for the plan among members of the Group of Seven industrial nations, according to the report. The IMF ranks as the number three holder of gold in reserves, after the U.S. Federal Reserve and Germany's Bundesbank. See full story.