TEHRAN — Iran has $120 billion stored in its foreign exchange reserves, and possesses 907 tons in gold reserves, according to the chairman of Tehran Chamber of Commerce.

 

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Yahya Ale-Eshagh said that Iran had purchased the gold in recent years at an average $600 per ounce. The current price of gold is now nearly three-times that, at $1730 per ounce.

 

Fars news agency quoted Ale-Eshagh as saying that Iran’s gold reserves total $17.5 billion.

 

The chairman said: “We don’t have any shortage of foreign currency or gold to meet the local demand”.

 

The official also attributed the recent fluctuations in the gold and currency markets, partially to mismanagement by some state bodies. He called for tighter monetary control by government on commodity and currency markets.

 

Previously, the governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) had announced that Iran's foreign exchange reserves have doubled in a short time.