Venezuela's state-owned mining company earlier this week signed a multi-million dollar deal to sell up to 1,000kg of gold to the US market, 2 sources familiar with the matter revealed to Axios.
A source said that the agreement requires the state-owned company Minerven to supply from 650 to 1,000kg of Dore gold bars to the commodity trading company Trafigura.
The contract stipulates a finished gold content of 98%. Trafigura will transport gold to US refineries under a separate agreement with the US government.
This agreement shows that trade relations between Venezuela and the US are increasingly tightening after the US arrested Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
US Home Secretary Doug Burgum arrived in Venezuela on March 4 to discuss oil and mineral opportunities, which helped boost this gold contract.
Currently, 1kg of pure gold costs about 166,000 USD. Prices fluctuate depending on the market, but world gold prices have increased amid global financial instability.
Oil prices have increased since the US and Israel attacked Iran - one of the world's largest oil producers.
In general, this gold contract is the 3rd exploitation agreement implemented under the supervision of President Donald Trump's administration when the US took control of Venezuela's oil.
Trafigura also participated in oil contracts worth more than 1 billion USD.
A well-informed source familiar with gold and oil deals said that the deals bring more benefits to Venezuela than they do now because this country has access to the US market and a stable financial system.
Now, money from Venezuelan resources will reach the government and people of Venezuela. And instead of gold flowing abroad to Turkey or Iran, that resource will reach the US," the source said.
