3 Million and 360 Thousand Tomans; The Record-Breaking Gold Coin Prices Continue

The price of each new design of the gold coin, known as the Imam coin, in the free market reached 3 million and 360 thousand tomans on Tuesday, August 1. Simultaneously, the price of the future gold coin delivery in December 2018 exceeded 3.9 million tomans. According to the Central News Unit, the old design of the gold coin was traded at 3 million and 80 thousand tomans on the same day. Additionally, in the free market, each half gold coin was sold for 1 million and 640 thousand tomans, and each quarter gold coin was traded for 830 thousand tomans. In this context, the website Entekhab criticized what it called the "inaction and silence of officials," noting that "the gold coin has set a record again." Earlier, the state news agency IRNA reported on Saturday, July 30, citing gold and coin industry activists, that the surge in gold coin prices was partly attributed to the approaching date of U.S. sanctions against Iran. Donald Trump, who has always opposed the global powers' nuclear agreement with Iran, announced in May that Washington would withdraw from the agreement to reinstate sanctions against Tehran. Trump's administration is seeking another agreement with Tehran that would also include Iran's missile program and its role in the region. Some of the sanctions against Tehran will be implemented starting August 4. On the other hand, the analytical news website "Alif" reported on Saturday, citing Mohammad Kashti-Arai, a board member of the Gold and Jewelry Sellers Union, that the price surge was due to the non-arrival of pre-sold coins in the market. The Iranian government had previously pre-sold over seven million coins to stabilize prices and combat shortages in the market, but this led to crises. According to Iranian officials, a large volume of these coins was purchased by a few individuals. The head of Iran's Inspection Organization stated that 50 individuals had pre-purchased 380 thousand coins, which is equivalent to five percent of the total coins. The price of future gold coins also rose to 3.9 million tomans. Meanwhile, according to ISNA news agency, the price of future gold coins for delivery in December 2018 reached over 3.9 million tomans. The prices for future gold coins for delivery in November and September of this year were over 3.7 million and 3.5 million tomans, respectively. Gold coins are traded in the Iranian Commodity Exchange under three symbols for December, November, and September in the form of future contracts. According to this report, the lowest price for future gold coins is related to September, which has recently reached over 3 million and 500 thousand tomans. A future contract is an agreement for the purchase and sale of an asset at a specified time in the future and at a specified price. This contract is a bilateral agreement, and parties can sell it without having the asset in hand, with specific conditions, and deliver it later at the agreed price to receive payment. In this context, the Central News Unit reported that the CEO of the Commodity Exchange denied the news of the suspension of the gold coin futures market, stating, "The gold coin futures market is an official and controllable market, and any market that manages customer risk may impose certain restrictions, but these restrictions will be lifted after a while." He said, "Taking increasing positions in the gold coin futures market is one of these restrictions that will be temporarily halted, but nothing special has happened regarding the market, and the complete suspension of the market is false news."