Archived World Gold Council Document

- Poland has become the most recent country to add to its gold reserves, according to the latest statistics from the International Monetary Fund.

IMF figures for June show gold holdings in the reserves of the Central Bank of Poland as having risen by 2.4 million ounces, or 74.5 tonnes, last May. The Bank has declined to comment but the figure was confirmed by the IMF.

George Milling-Stanley of the World Gold Council commented: "This sizeable purchase of gold is a further illustration of the fact that there is no question of a ‘retreat from gold’ by central bankers. While some central banks have decreased the proportion of gold in their reserves in recent years, others have been building up their gold reserves. The news from Poland confirms that it is certainly not true that gold has had its day as a reserve asset."

Overall net sales of gold from central bank vaults have never been vast, Mr Milling-Stanley said. During the whole of 1997, net sales represented only 1.2 per cent of global holdings. As the Council has pointed out before, the picture over time is one of massive stability.

Mr Milling Stanley added: "The continuing special role that gold plays in a country’s reserves has been underlined during the summer by the new European Central Bank. The ECB decided that 15% of its total reserves will be in gold - a figure which compares favourably with the average percentage of gold held by central banks across the world as a whole."

"Moreover, member countries of the ECB have been firm in telling the world that they intend to go on holding gold in their individual central banks too. Germany, France and Italy - three of the largest holders of gold in the world - have made it clear they have no intention of selling."

"Europe’s politicians and central bankers are convinced that Europe’s gold will be a vital factor in underpinning the credibility of the ECB’s new monetary unit, the euro, which they envisage as a reserve currency strong enough to stand alongside the dollar."