10 Countries Sitting On Enormous Mounds Of Gold

[WedgeAntilles]

10 Countries Sitting On Enormous Mounds Of Gold

MAMTA BADKAR
DEC. 14, 2013, 8:53 AM 60,440 5
Reuters/Shannon Stapleton

Gold looks like it is on its way to its first annual drop in 13 years.

This is bad news for central banks that have been diversifying their foreign reserves to include gold, but at a slower pace than in 2012.

A new report from the World Gold Council showed that year-to-date central bank gold reserves increased by nearly 300 tonnes.

Global official gold holdings totaled 31,913.5 tonnes as of December 2013, according to the latest report from the World Gold Council.

We pulled the numbers on the 10 biggest official reserves.

Note: CBGA refers to the Central Bank Gold Agreements. The first Agreement (CBGA 1) ran from September 27, 1999 to September 26, 2004. The second Agreement (CBGA 2) ran from September 27, 2004 to September 26, 2009. The third Agreement (CBGA 3) will run for five years from September 2009.

 

[WedgeAntilles]

10 Countries Sitting On Enormous Mounds Of Gold

MAMTA BADKAR
DEC. 14, 2013, 8:53 AM 60,440 5

10. India

REUTERS/Krishnendu Halder

Official gold holdings:
557.7 tonnes

Percent of foreign reserves in gold:
8.4%

The government has been trying to deter people from purchasing the precious metal and some like Jim Rogers attribute the price decline to lowered emerging market demand. Gold imports have been blamed for the nation's high current account deficit. India's central bank governor Raghuram Rajan has previously said the country can pay off its debt in gold.

Source: World Gold Council