| World official gold holding (September 2008)[6] | |||
| Rank | Country/Organization | Gold (tonnes) | Gold's share forex (%)[6] |
|---|---|---|---|
| - |  World | 29,783.9 | - |
| - |  Eurozone (incl. ECB) | 10,911.4 | 58.0% |
| 1 |  USA | 8,133.5 | 77.3% |
| 2 |  Germany | 3,413.1 | 66.4% |
| 3 | International Monetary Fund | 3,217.3 | - |
| 4 |  France | 2,540.9 | 57.8% |
| 5 |  Italy | 2,451.8 | 67.0% |
| 6 |  Switzerland | 1,064.1 | 38.1% |
| 7 |  Japan | 765.2 | 2.1% |
| - | SPDR Gold Trust (a Gold exchange-traded fund) | 745.2[7] | - |
| 8 |  Netherlands | 621.4 | 59.9% |
| 9 |  People's Republic of China | 600.0 | 0.9% |
| 10 | European Central Bank | 533.6 | 23.0% |
| 11 |  Russia | 472.6 | 2.1% |
| 12 |  Republic of China (Taiwan) | 422.4 | 3.8% |
| 13 |  Portugal | 382.5 | 85.5% |
| 14 |  India | 357.7 | 3.1% |
| 15 |  Venezuela | 356.8 | 29.3% |
| 16 |  United Kingdom | 310.3 | 15.4% |
| 17 |  Lebanon | 286.8 | 33.5% |
| 18 |  Spain | 281.6 | 39.0% |
| 19 |  Austria | 280.0 | 40.4% |
| 20 |  Belgium | 227.6 | 37.3% |
January 3, 2009
Soot and Ashes Serious Question of the Day
Why do central banks still own gold?
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19 comments:
0. Central Banking defies rational analysis!
1. Barring the usual goldbug conspiracy theories, I doubt there's a single intent. Those holding the bulk of their reserves in gold emphasize "soundness", while the others may be just balancing their interest-earning assets with something conservative.
2. (see 0 above) Don't copy their tactics.
better question: when will they make illegal and seize all holdings over 50oz?
my guess is once they're done devaluing. b/c if there's nothing to be devalued against, then there really was no devaluation to begin with! an idea so ridiculously stupid that it just might work on us sheep!
baaaaaaaaaaaaa
The U.S. gold reserves have not been audited in over 50 years. It is my opinion, that they do not exist.
Keith, I know what you are getting at; that gold is a precious commodity, it is in limited supply, during troubling times it goes sky high as demand increases, etc...
However, here is one aspect of physical gold ownership that scares the living daylights out of me; in the past during economic depressions, the government has CONFISCATED GOLD FROM THEIR OWNERS and paid them at below market (way below market values) values. Imagine buying gold today at $900 per ounce, and then you see it go to perhaps $2500. But then the government decides (for economic stability and the benefit of all) that they need to confiscate gold and they will only pay you $300. And if you don't like it, then they will send a bunch of guys with guns and body armor at your house!!!
This has happened in the past and is likely to happen in the future if we go into another Great Depression! Just some food for thought Sashers.
Ummmm... cuz they like how shiny and yellow it is?
Well, prime minister Brown sold most of the UK share, right when prices were lowest. Nice one.
Note how Japan and China have both opted for the greenback as a "safe haven" heh heh. Their reason obviously is to prop it up so they can dump more crap onto the US.
Interesting question though: are these central banks the ones lending gold out to keep it's price down? If so, it would be interesting to see the paper gold holders step up to the plate and ask for their bullion.
Hi Keith,
Do you (or does anyone) really believe these numbers (gold reserves for the US)? And, is 77% of zero currency reserves really significant for the US?? Just askin...
Keith,
All the numbers in your chart as bogus. Why? Because the IMF has been forcing all CBs to cook the books using 'gold swaps' for the past 10+ years.
Who knows how much if any of the real physical yellow metal any of these CBs still have.
What is a 'gold swap'?
It's a contract which lets a bullion bank lease gold from a CB.
The bullion bank gets the physical gold, which they then dump on the spot market to keep a lid on the POG.
The CB gets IOU for the physical, plus some amount of interest paid in fiat dollars.
This game is over when the physical gold runs out, or the CBs demand their swap postions unwound.
A full unwind would vault the POG over $50K/oz. Why so high? Because much of the physical is stashed away in SWFs and other very stong hands that won't let go for anything less.
When will this happen? Only the bankers who have access to the real data and their finger on the geopolitical forces in play could attempt a reasonable guess as to the timing of events. The data indicates to us only that such an event will happen, not when.
Lot of front teeth are gold in Los Angeles. Lots of them. It's some kind of honor. The more inner-city, the more inner-gold-teeth.
They need lots of gold there. They pan for it.
Cause they put it in a big tub and roll around naked in it.
No matter what happens, they can still get a happy meal.
Coconutz!
Once they have completely plundered and destroyed the worlds fiat currencies By inevitable hyperinflation . Thus wiping out the worlds middle class they may insist that it was a good idea after all to have currency backed by something eg gold .And coincidentally they find themselves once again in prime position
central banks own gold because they know the scam of fiat paper money...
interesting that the anti-gold countries, secular Western ones, especially USA and UK hold the most....if gold was such a barbarous relic (sitting in the dark earning no interest as one CNN pundit put it)
why do they then hoard it? (when not selling off chunks to down the spot price?
So when the G20 hyperinflate in unison, they'll be even richer.
This is a very good question. There are also signs of very large purchases taking place.
Perhaps govts. knowing for a fact their currencies are going to deflate rapidly and soon, are buying like mad, as a hedge. (can't say all their moves are stupid)
"Somebody BIG ... playing for BIG marbles".
-Bill Murphy
http://tinyurl.com/7j96zl
good question. as for other countries, b/c they think there is still value or use for it, which there is not. as for the US, who knows, they have money to waste?
Right on time Keith. You put up a gold thread and the price plummets. Thanks dude. Time to buy some more.
they own gold so that they can F with goldbug investors. ;)
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