By George Mwangi
Special to Dow Jones Newswires
The value of gold sold by Tanzania's large-scale miners fell 12% and volume by 19% in the first quarter this year compared with the previous quarter, the Bank of Tanzania said Friday.
The value of gold sold fell to $400.6 million from $456.0 million the prior quarter, the bank said in its quarterly economic review.
The volume of gold sales in Tanzania--one of Africa's top gold producers--fell to 8,201.1 kilograms from 10,175.1 kilograms in the preceding quarter, the bank said.
Compared with the same period a year ago, the value of gold sales fell by 10% and volume by 14%, it said.
The fall was mainly due to a decrease in production, the central bank said.
Average prices for the precious metal on the global market rose 4.3% to $1,873.3 a troy ounce in the first quarter compared with the prior quarter, and was 4.2% higher compared with the year-ago period, the bank said.
"Gold prices rose owing to the waning risk appetite of investors prior to the war," it said." In response to the U.S. Federal Reserve decision to raise the interest rate in an attempt to curb inflation, gold prices were anticipated to ease, however, the prevalence of war exerted an upward pressure."
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
05-13-22 0730ET
