Thanks to Gordon Brown, Britain is now longer in the World Gold Top Ten
The top ten gold holdings by country in September 2009 according to World Gold Council,as quoted in "The Economist " are:USA 8,100 tonnesGermany 3,400 tonnesIMF 3,200 tonnesItaly 2,500 tonnesFrance 2,400 tonnesChina 1,1000 tonnesSwitzerland 1,000 tonnesJapan 800 tonnesNetherlands 600 tonnesRussia 600 tonnesIndia bought 200 tonnes of gold from the IMF in October 2009 at a cost of $6.7 billion. The IMF plans to sell 403.3 tonnes of its gold holding in order to cover its operating expenses and help expand lending- possibly to countries with severe economic problems such as the UK. It is noteworthy that the UK is not included- possibly because Gordon Brown sold 359 tonnes of the UK’s gold reserves when the price was $257 per troy ounce. I suspect more has been sold since. The price is now about $1,100 per ounce for the first time.It has been calculated that Gordon Brown's blunder has cost this country well over £10 billion. The central banks of China, Mexico, the Philippines and Russia have all added to their gold reserves in the past year.The Bank of England can no longer afford to buy any.The Economist says ”Every central bank with a large holding of American debts is worried about capital losses if the dollar continues to weaken. Gold offers reassurance. ""Anyone who wants “quantitative easing “ in the gold market has to dig a mine “. Maybe Gordon Brown should start digging !Ann Keen MP is Gordon Brown's former Paraliamenary Private Secretary and was part of his team during his disasterous tenure as Chancellor of the Exchequer.
David Giles ● 6018d2 Comments