- Press Release by the
WGC in London
UK PUBLIC OPPOSES GOLD AUCTIONS
LONDON: 5 July 1999 - The Hold on to our Gold Campaign, sponsored
by the World Gold Council (WGC) has received overwhelming support from
the people of Britain.
See the advertisement "Hold on to our Gold"
More than 20,000 people have telephoned the WGC's 'hot-line' to add
their support and more than 10,000 have asked for their names to be added
to a petition which is being delivered today to the Chancellor of the
Exchequer, Mr Gordon Brown, to protest against the sale.
The UK Treasury announced on 7 May its plan to sell 415 tonnes of Britain's
gold through a series of bi-monthly auctions. The immediate impact of
the announcement was a near-$30 fall in the gold price which reduced the
value of the UK's gold holdings by some $650 million.
The first 25 tonnes from the UK reserves is being auctioned tomorrow
(Tuesday) by the Bank of England with members of the London Bullion Market
Association (LBMA) submitting sealed bids on behalf of themselves or their
clients. The result of the auction is expected to be announced at 12.15
pm tomorrow.
Since the Government's announcement the World Gold Council has been inundated
with telephone calls and letters urging it to take action against the
sale. Early in May it conducted a public attitude survey of a representative
sample of British people. By a 5 to 2 majority people were found to be
opposed to the sale. Last week the WGC placed advertisements in several
national newspapers inviting readers to offer their support to a petition
to the Chancellor, urging a postponement of the first and subsequent sales.
The petition will be delivered to 11 Downing Street at 3.00pm today.
"We have been very surprised at the strength of public feeling on
this issue that has been shown by so many ordinary Britons," said
Miss Haruko Fukuda, the Chief Executive of the WGC.
"We have received more than 20,000 telephone calls in support and
at one time the operators could not cope with so many people expressing
their anger at the sale.
"The Chancellor and the Bank of England have totally under-estimated
the depth of feeling on this issue," said Miss Fukuda.
- Ends -
Contact:
Miss Haruko Fukuda, WGC 0171 930 5171
Garry Mead, WGC 0171 930 5171 or 01892 549525 (home)
Keith Irons, Bankside Consultants 0171 220 7477 or 0585 356639 (mobile)
See the advertisement "Hold on to our Gold"
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