Venezuela ‘seizing’ diamonds, precious metals to boost reserves

The Central Bank of Venezuela is adding diamonds, gold and other precious stones and metals to its foreign reserves which have fallen to an 11-year low. The bank said in a statement issued Thursday it intends to use a broader range of assets to increase international reserves, it will also include freely convertible foreign currencies. Venezuela may also use Chinese loans in yuan to bolster its international reserves. Finance Minister Rodolfo Marco traveled this week to China to discuss potential deals. The country’s reserves are now at about $21.7 billion, after falling 28 percent in the last three years, that’s despite a previous $4 billion loan from China. The decision is more of an accounting ploy taken to reallocate billions of dollars in off-budget funds into central bank reserves, Hernan Yellati, analyst at Banctrust & Co told Bloomberg. More…