"Aval" bank increased rates of purchase and sale of bar golds for cash departments of the Bank's Central office (Kiev, Lesya Ukrainka Blvd, 26), reported the Bank press service with reference to a department for retail business.

According to the department, since January, 30 2003 the following rates of purchase and sale of 1 gramme of a bar gold (959 XAU, standard 999,9) weighing 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 grammes were fixed for cash departments of the Central office of bank:

1 g — 90,00 (purchase) — 102,50 (sale), (formerly 65,00 hrn/g — 90,00 hrn/g);

5 g — 68,00 hrn/g (purchase) — 75,40 hrn/g (sale), (formerly 64,40 hrn/g — 70,65 hrn/g;

10 g — 65,00 hrn/g (purchase) — 72,20 hrn/g (sale), (formerly 59,50 — 67,50 hrn/g);

20 g — 63,00 hrn/g (purchase) — 70,20 hrn/g (sale), (formerly 58,40 — 65,60 hrn/g);

50 g — 62,00 hrn/g (purchase) — 70,00 hrn/g (sale), (formerly — 56,80 — 64,40 hrn/g);

100 g — 62,00 hrn/g (purchase) — 70,00 hrn/g (sale), (formerly — 56,20 — 64,00 hrn/g).

According to the head of sector for precious metals of "Aval" bank Alla Ishchenko, increase in rates of purchase and sale of bank metals first of all is caused by the rise in gold prices at the world markets; last week the gold price in European tenders for the first time since December, 1996 exceeded 370 dollars for 1 troy ounce.

According to her the rise in gold prices is connected with increasing certitude in inevitability of war in Iraq as well as concern in American economic climate making participants of the world financial markets transfer their funds in euro, yen and gold.

As a result of rise in gold prices up to record level over the last six years, as A.Ishchenko stressed, owners of bank "metal accounts" could increase their fortune approximately by a third.

Gold will be still attractive for investment in 2003. Thus the further rise in prises will be stimulated by the same factors which had influence last year: tension in the Middle East and Asia, weakening of USD world positions etc. Besides as the head of sector for precious metals of "Aval" bank reported, experts consider that world gold prices were artificially undercut for a long time by participants of the market.

For today the Central office of "Aval" bank (Kiev), Nikolaev oblast directorate of "Aval" bank, Cherkassk oblast directorate, Kherson oblast directorate, Donetsk oblast directorate, Dnepropetrovsk oblast directorate, Rivnenskiy and Odessa oblast directorates, the First Kiev office and others deal with bank metals.