Russia's central bank says it will stop buying gold at a fixed price
Russia's central bank said on Thursday that due to a "significant change in market conditions" it would buy gold from commercial banks at a negotiated price from 8 April.
On 25 March, the bank had said it would buy gold at a fixed price of 5,000 roubles a gram until 30 June.
Since that announcement, the rouble has strengthened sharply against the dollar. Five thousand roubles was worth around $52 on 25 March and around $63 on Thursday.
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Gold prices on the international market have remained stable at around $60 a gram, or $1,900 an ounce.
Russia is one of the world's biggest gold producers, but the country's refiners were barred from selling bullion into the London market, the world's largest, after the Kremlin sent troops into Ukraine in February.
($1 = 78.6830 roubles)
