Gold ingots, like these from the Bank of Sweden, form the base of many monetary systems

Gold reserves (or gold holdings) are held by central banks as a store of value. At the end of 2004 central banks and official organizations held 19% of all above ground gold as a reserve asset.^[1] In 2001, it was estimated that all the gold ever mined totalled 145,000 tonnes.^[2] As one metric tonne equals 1,000 kilograms (or 32,150 troy ounces), this equated to a value of US$23.8 million in September 2007($739/troy ounces).^[3] For comparison, the entire global market capitalization for all stock markets was US$43.6 trillion in March 2006. About one percent of all above ground gold (370 metric tonnes) was mined in the first five years of the California Gold Rush (worth approximately US$7.2 billion at November 2006 prices).^[4] Commons:Image:Gold ingots. ... Commons:Image:Gold ingots. ... To act as a store of value, a commodity, a form of money or financial capital must be able to be reliably saved, stored, and retrieved - and be predictably useful when it is so retrieved. ... GOLD refers to one of the following: GOLD (IEEE) is an IEEE program designed to garner more student members at the university level (Graduates of the Last Decade). ... Bank reserves are banks holdings of deposits in accounts with their central bank (for instance the European Central Bank or the Federal Reserve, in the later case called federal funds), plus currency that is physically held in banks vaults (vault cash). ... This article is about the business definition. ... A tonne (also called metric ton) is a non-SI unit of mass, accepted for use with SI, defined as: 1 tonne = 103 kg (= 106 g). ... Troy weight is a system of units of mass customarily used for precious metals and gemstones. ... USD redirects here. ... Market capitalization, or market cap, is a measurement of corporate or economic size equal to the stock price times the number of shares outstanding of a public company. ... A stock market is a market for the trading of company stock, and derivatives of same; both of these are securities listed on a stock exchange as well as those only traded privately. ... The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was discovered at Sutters Mill. ...

IMF gold reserves

IMF gold reserves refers to 3,217 tonnes of gold held by the International Monetary Fund. It is currently priced at a range of $40 and $50 a troy ounce ($1,300 to $1,600/kg), a price that was fixed in the 1970s before the Nixon government stopped pegging the U.S. dollar to the gold and instead allowed market forces to set the dollar's worth. An attempt to revalue the gold reserve to today's value has met resistance for different reasons. For example, Canada, the world's #1 gold producer, is against the idea of revaluing the reserve, as it would flood the market with gold and therefore depress its price.^[5] It is also not clear whether the gold reserve is the property of the IMF or of member countries. IMF redirects here. ... Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913 – April 22, 1994) was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. ... The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States. ...

Three quarters of the gold reserve was contributed by G5 members, namely France, Germany, Japan, United States and United Kingdom. The gold piles contributed by the French, the Germans, the Japanese, the Americans and the British are each worth $10 bn.

Privately held gold

As of January 2007, gold exchange-traded funds held 629 tonnes of gold in total for private and institutional investors. In 2004, it was estimated that the Indian public held 13,000 tonnes of gold in jewelry or other forms. ^[6] Gold exchange-traded funds (or GETFs) are special types of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tracking the price of gold. ...

Officially reported gold reserves

As of 22 September 2005, the largest gold holdings in tonnes as reported by the World Gold Council can be seen in the table below.^[7] The United States' holding of gold is worth approximately US$164 billion (December 2006). A tonne or metric ton (symbol t), sometimes referred to as a metric tonne, is a measurement of mass equal to 1,000 kilograms. ... The World Gold Council, formed in 1987, is an industry association of the worlds leading gold mining companies. ... The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States. ...

IMF redirects here. ... Headquarters Coordinates , , Established 1 January 1998 President Jean-Claude Trichet Central Bank of Austria, Belgium, France, Finland, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain Currency Euro ISO 4217 Code EUR Reserves €43bn directly, €338bn through the Eurosystem (including gold deposits). ... For the Chinese civilization, see China. ... BIS Headquarters in Basel The Bank for International Settlements (or BIS) is an international organization of central banks which exists to foster cooperation among central banks and other agencies in pursuit of monetary and financial stability. It carries out its work through subcommittees, the secretariats it hosts, and through its...

See also

• Foreign exchange reserves
• Sovereign wealth funds
• United States Bullion Depository
• Federal Reserve Bank of New York
• Gold as an investment
• Strategic Petroleum Reserve
• The "Moscow Gold", the reserves of the Bank of Spain sent to the Soviet Union for storage by the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War never to return.

Foreign exchange reserves are the foreign currency deposits held by central banks and monetary authorities. ... Sovereign wealth fund (SWF) (Sovereign wealth funds) is a fund owned by a state composed of financial assets such as stocks, bonds, property or other financial instruments. ... The United States Bullion Depository is a fortified vault building located near Fort Knox, Kentucky which is used to store a large portion of United States official gold reserves, as well as from time to time, other precious items belonging to, or entrusted to, the United States of America. ... The Federal Reserve Bank of New York is the most important of the twelve Federal Reserve Banks of the United States. ... Reserves of foreign exchange and gold in 2006 A pile of 12. ... The Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) is an emergency petroleum store maintained by the United States Department of Energy. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Banco de España (Bank of Spain) is the national central bank of Spain. ... Anthem El Himno de Riego Capital Madrid Language(s) Spanish Government Republic President  - 1931–1936 Niceto Alcalá-Zamora  - 1936–1939 Manuel Azaña Legislature Congress of Deputies Historical era Interwar period  - Monarchy abolished April 14, 1931  - Spanish Civil War 1936–1939  - Surrender to Franco April 1, 1939 Currency Spanish peseta... Not to be confused with the Spanish Civil War of 1820-1823. ...

References