[miningmx.com] — ANGLOGOLD Ashanti believes the decision to unwind the bulk of its gold hedgebook reflects the company’s confidence in the likely direction of the gold price, a company official said on Monday.
“The unwinding of the hedgebook is an indication of our confidence in the gold price and where it’s going. It will enable us to do a lot of things that we otherwise might not have been able to do,” Thero Setiloane, executive vice president, business sustainability, said in an interview on the sidelines of the London Bullion Market Association annual conference.
He said he saw the gold price holding “comfortably above $1,300 for the remainder of 2010 and heading towards $1,400.”
AngloGold had cut its hedge book — gold sold forward or covered by derivatives — to 2.72 million ounces by September 14 and plans to eliminate all of it by early next year by procuring early settlements of contracts that mature beyond 2010.
However, Setiloane said the company had no plans right now to use that capital to fund any acquisitions.
