AngloGold may close hedgebook
Nov 03 2009 07:28
Edinburgh - AngloGold Ashanti may accelerate closing its hedgebook if conditions are right, Mark Lynam, a vice president at the gold producer said on Monday.
The company said in July it planned to wind up its hedge book by 2014.
"Is there a possibility of it being accelerated? Absolutely. It is always in play to opportunistically add value, (or) take it down further," said Lynam, speaking on the sidelines of the London Bullion Market Association's annual conference.
But there were currently no specific plans to do so, he said.
AngloGold said on Monday it had cut its hedge book in the third quarter to 4.3 million ounces. The company has reduced its entire forward sales by two-thirds since Chief Executive Mark Cutifani took over in 2007.
The company expects to have around 4 million ounces of gold hedged by the end of this year, Lynam said.
He said the average price it receives for its gold due to its hedge book is a discount to the spot price of some 7%.
"Now, we have much lower levels of hedging," he said. "The price can move around and the 7% doesn't (move) quickly. At $1 200, it becomes 11%, but it doesn't get extraordinarily high."
- Reuters
