Daily Telegraph (U.K.) April 1, 2005.
The European Central Bank has sold 47 tons of gold since last September, and will not be selling more before Sept. 26, 2005, if then.
This means the bank now has 15% of its reserves in gold.
This gold has been snapped up by Indian, Chinese, Japanese and Korean central banks. The Chinese, Japanese, & Korean banks collectively have only 2% of their reserves in gold (the Daily Telegraph does not specify the percentage held by the Indian bank).
China, Japan, and Korea hold billions of U.S. dollars, some of which will be converted to gold to raise their reserves closer to the prudent 15% held by the European Central Bank. The Chinese are searching for a way to buy productive mines, industries, and oil producers all over the world as a way to lighten up on their holdings of U.S. dollars and obtain real assets in exchange. |
