The price of gold coins in Iran fell by more than four percent after the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) began to provide the market with newly minted coins.

On Saturday, the price of a standard gold coin in Iranian markets dropped to 2.69 million rials (about $269) from a record high of 2.82 million rials on Thursday.

The CBI announced on Thursday that it would inject a fraction of five million newly-minted gold coins from Saturday to reduce rising prices.

Despite their rising price the demand for gold coins increased in Iran, prompting the CBI to supply markets with more coins, Mehr News Agency quoted CBI governor Mahmoud Bahmani as saying on Sunday.

Bahmani added that the CBI would continue to inject gold coins in the market until the prices in Iran near the price of gold in international markets.

The price of gold coins in Iran has risen sharply in line with developments on international markets where gold bullion has risen 28 percent this year to a record high of $1,122.85 an ounce on Thursday. It traded at $1,118.85 on Friday, Reuters reported.

A standard gold coin weighs around 8.13 grams. It is also sold in smaller denominations of half a coin and a quarter of a coin.

AKM/HGH