Gold Derivatives: Gold Derivatives: - World Gold Council

Largest Official Gold Holdings (end 2000)
Tonnes Gold as a % of foreign exchange
holdings
1 United States 8,137 57%
2 Germany 3,469 35%
3 IMF 3,217 n/a
4 France 3,025 42%
5 Italy 2,452 40%
6 Switzerland 2,420 40%
7 Netherlands 912 46%
8 Japan 764 2%
9 ECB 747 14%
10 Portugal 607 39%
11 Spain 523 13%
12 United Kingdom 480 9%
13 Taiwan 421 3%
14 China 395 2%
15 Russia 382 12%
16 Austria 377 19%
17 India 358 9%
18 Venezuela 319 16%
19 Lebanon 287 30%
20 Belgium 258 19%
All countries 28,871 12%
WAG 15,603 29%
Euro-System 12,427 30%
Source: IMF, World Gold Council
The price subsequently recovered in September 1999 after the announcement
of a pact between fifteen central banks 8 to limit sales and lending, widely
known as the ‘Washington Agreement on Gold’ (See Appendix 2). The signatories
held between them about half of all official gold, and other large holders,
such as the United States, IMF and Japan, unofficially associated themselves
with the agreement.
8
The European Central Bank, and the central banks of Austria, Belgium, France, Finland, Germany,
Irish Republic, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.
Gold Derivatives: The market impact 27