FACTBOX-European central banks sell 91 T of gold in 5th year
LONDON, April 15 (Reuters) -
European central banks have sold 91 tonnes of gold in the fifth and final year of the Central Bank Gold Agreement (CBGA) to date, data compiled by the industry-funded World Gold Council showed.
The fifth year of the pact started on Sept. 27 2008.
According to the figures, the 15 signatories to the accord disposed of
497.2 tonnes of the 500-tonnes allowance during the first year,
395.8 tonnes in the second year,
475.8 tonnes in the third year and
358 tonnes in the fourth year.
Following is background to
Europe's recent gold sales under the programme:
Central banks and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) collectively hold 29,697.1 tonnes of gold in their reserves, but have been gradually reducing their holdings.
In March 2004, 15 European central banks renewed a 1999 pact to limit their sales over
a five-year period to 2,500 tonnes,
with annual sales limited to 500 tonnes,
up from 2,000 tonnes in the first agreement.
* The new pact runs from
Sept. 27, 2004 to Sept. 26, 2009. *
The signatories are
Austria,
Belgium,
Finland,
France,
Germany,
Ireland,
Italy,
Luxembourg,
Netherlands,
Portugal,
Spain,
Sweden,
Switzerland,
Greece and the European Central Bank. *
Greece replaced Britain in the new CBGA. *
The world's largest holder of gold as of
December 2008 is the
United States with 8,133.5 tonnes. *
Other major holders are
Germany (3,412.6 tonnes),
IMF (3,217.3 tonnes),
Italy (2,451.8 tonnes),
France (2,444.8 tonnes)
Switzerland (1,040.1 tonnes),
according to the World Gold Council.
Please find below known gold sales and announced sales plans under the CBGA, as of June 6 2008.
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4
(04/05) (05/06) (06/07) (07-08)
Eurozone (to Apr 10)352.2 385.8 352.8 83 -
ECB.....(to end Feb) 47.0 57.0 60.0 0.0 -
Austria (to end Feb) 15.0 13.7 8.7 0.0 -
Belgium (to end Feb) 30.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 -
France* (to end Feb) 115.0 134.8 115.1 64.0 -
Germany (to end Feb) 5.4 5.3 5.1 0.0 -
Netherl (to end Feb) 55.0 67.5 14.0 9.0 -
Portuga (to end Feb) 54.8 44.9 0.0 0.0 -
Spain (to end Feb) 30.0 62.5 149.3 0.0 -
Country not yet known 0.5 10.0
Sweden (to Apr 7) 15.0 10.0 10.0 8.2
Switzerland (to date) 130.0 0.0 113.0 0.0
TOTAL Reported or estimated so far
497.2 395.8 475.8 91 *
In addition, France transferred approx 17 tonnes late 2004 to the BIS as part purchase of BIS shares.
This transaction is considered to be outside the scope of the CBGA. **
Source: World Gold Council (Compiled by Jan Harvey, Editing by Sue Thomas) Keywords: PRECIOUS CENTRALBANKS
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