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Expert explains why using gold as alternative to dollar may be inconvenient

Higher domestic demand for gold can have one more positive effect though, the expert notes

© Donat Sorokin/TASS

MOSCOW, January 22. /TASS/. Russian investment gold cannot act as an alternative to the US dollar because it has low liquidity and settlements in it are inconvenient for individuals, Metals and Mining Director of Prosperity Capital Management Nikolai Sosnovsky told TASS on Tuesday.

Chief Executive Officer of the Moscow Exchange Alexander Afanasyev made a suggestion on Monday to use Russian gold as an alternative to investments into the US Dollar.

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"Gold does not have liquidity of the dollar. As the practice shows, settlements in it are inconvenient for individuals. Furthermore, Russia has no normal financial instruments for investments into precious metals - conditions are disinteresting and spreads are too high for metal accounts and VAT is in place for physical gold," the expert said.

At the same time, investment gold in bullions is popular among investors from many countries as a diversification instrument for savings, Department Director of Otkritie Bank Sergey Schavelev says.

"Provided that a range of existing restrictions is eliminated, this instrument can take an appropriate place in a toolkit of a Russian investor along with popular conservative methods of savings - forex purchases," the expert notes. Higher domestic demand for gold can have one more positive effect in the form of physical offer growth, which will strengthen Russia’s positions as a major gold mining country, he adds.

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