Gold bars. Archival photoMOSCOW, March 10The abolition of VAT on investment gold in Russia will spur demand for the metal from retail buyers, and in the near future there may even be a shortage of bars in banks, experts interviewed by RIA Novosti believe.
"The bars have not yet been minted by banks, so it will be difficult to purchase them for at least a couple of months", — warns the commodity markets analyst from "Otkritie Investments" Oksana Lukicheva. The best strategy, she says, is to buy a little bit of gold from each income. "So, of course, it should have been done earlier. But even now it’s not too late, moreover, the demand for coins is already very high, they are really in short supply", — said Lukicheva.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday signed a law abolishing VAT on investment gold for individuals. Previously, when selling precious metals, they were taxed at a rate of 20%, and this made transactions with them unprofitable in the short term for citizens. As a result, gold, according to the analyst, has become a good alternative to any currencies. «Cash dollars and other currencies are already difficult to purchase: the exchange rate is high, there are restrictions on issuance from deposits,» she explained.Mishustin called investments in gold an alternative to foreign exchange savings. At the same time, the market was not ready for a large demand for bullion, agrees Sergey Kashuba, chairman of the Union of Gold Producers. “This is retail, it is necessary to stamp a sufficient number of measured ingots of various denominations — from one gram and beyond. All ingots must be protected in a certain way, it is necessary to prepare bank vaults, cells. In addition, it is necessary to develop a methodology for evaluating these ingots for repurchase,” — he explained. «I admit that in the current conditions of volatility and high risks in the stock market of the Russian Federation and globally, the weakening of the ruble, sanctions, etc., investment demand for physical gold will increase significantly, I think we can expect up to 10-15 tons», Dmitry Skryabin, portfolio manager at Alfa Capital, said. 8 tons earlier, and in the future, the annual retail consumption of gold in Russia will be around 50 tons.
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