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14 September 1998
World Gold Council launches "Gold Facts"
campaign; seeks to balance debate on gold
NEW YORK – The World Gold Council has launched a
new initiative designed to achieve a more balanced debate about gold in
general and central bank dealings in particular. The second and most recent
advertisement in this campaign, entitled FACTS…GOLD….FACTS,
ran in the September 8 issues of The Wall Street Journal
and the Financial Times and the September 11 issue of The Economist.
This advertisement features quotes from prominent central European bankers.
The initial advertisement in the series, which ran in July, dealt with
the recent decision by the European Central Bank (ECB) to hold 15% of
the bank’s reserve assets in gold, an amount at the high end of the
expected range. The advertisement further called attention to the ECB’s
new guidelines to be adopted later this year, which will subject all operations
in regard to reserve assets remaining with the national central banks
– including gold – to ECB approval. It also referred to the
fact that many central banks around the world continue to add to their
gold reserves. George Milling-Stanley, the World Gold Council’s Manager
of Gold Market Analysis, noted that the Bank of Poland, for example, has
recently added 2.4 million ounces or 74.5 tons to its reserves.
In commenting on the campaign, Mr. Milling-Stanley said, "Market
conjecture over the likelihood of further central bank sales has been
given undue prominence in the media and consequently weighed heavily on
investors, analysts and the market at large. This perception has contributed
in no small way to the decline in the price of gold."
He went on to add that the Council’s advertising, which relies on
factual information, cites statistics showing that only a very small amount
of official gold, relative to the total holdings of the official sector,
was sold last year and that the picture of reserve asset holdings over
time is one of massive stability.
The recently introduced advertising program represents another step in
the reprioritization of the WGC’s activities in the gold market.
The WGC, best known as a marketing organization dedicated to increasing
physical demand for gold, has recently given a higher priority to communicating
the role of gold as a monetary asset and its role in investment portfolios
to the financial community and the media.
The World Gold Council is an international organization formed and
funded by leading gold mining companies from around the world. The countries
served by the Council account for approximately 80% of global gold demand.
Contact: George Milling-Stanley
+1 (212) 317-3848 |