Which Countries Have the Largest Gold Reserves? explained by professional Forex trading experts the “ForexSQ” FX trading team.
Which Countries Have the Largest Gold Reserves?
Modern countries may have moved off of the gold standard a long time ago, but many central banks still hold significant gold reserves. In fact, central banks have been adding millions of tons of gold each year to bolster their reserves. This begs the question: If currencies aren’t backed by gold anymore, why are central banks still buying non-yielding gold when they could be holding foreign bonds that pay regular interest and cost nothing to store?
In this article, we will look at why countries still maintain gold reserves and which countries have the most gold in their central bank reserves.
Why Keep Gold Reserves?
Many developed countries maintain at least some gold reserves as part of their central bank policy, despite the high cost of storage and the lack of a financial return. After all, central banks could hold foreign sovereign debt and earn interest each year on those holdings.
Gold is an intrinsic currency that’s accepted anywhere in the world without a third-party guarantee. In other words, U.S. dollars must be guaranteed by the United States government to be worth anything whereas gold is theoretically always worth something anywhere, anytime.
Central banks hold gold reserves as an insurance policy against hyperinflation or other severe economic catastrophes. Gold is the most widely followed and traded commodity on Earth, which makes it a relatively liquid market if interventions were needed to support a fiat currency.
For example, if the U.S. dollar were to dramatically decline in value relative to other currencies, the government could sell gold to buy dollars and support its value.
As fiat currency inflation rises, many of these central banks increase their gold holdings over time to account for the increase in inflation.
Some countries have also started to increase their gold holdings in response to the global economic crisis in a bid to make their currency more reliable than competing currencies. After all, the U.S. maintains such large reserves to support the value of the U.S. dollar as the world’s primary reserve currency.
Who Holds the Most Gold?
The United States holds the largest gold reserve at more than 8,000 metric tons, which is twice that of Germany and three times that of Italy and France. At $1,300 per ounce, these reserves are theoretically worth more than $375 billion U.S. dollars. These reserves were a significant portion of the country’s $850 billion monetary base in 2008, but since then, it has become a smaller portion of the $4 trillion monetary base in 2017.
These gold reserves accounted for about 75.3 percent of the Federal Reserve’s holdings in 2016, which means that it seems to prefer holding gold rather than a basket of currencies or foreign sovereign debt like many other countries. By comparison, Chinaholds less than 3 percent of its reserve holdings in gold and a majority in U.S. government bonds that it acquires through a long running trade deficit amounting to trillions of dollars.
While the U.S. holds the largest gold reserves, other countries are adding to their reserves at a faster rate or have access to domestic gold sources. For example, China ranks relatively low on the list of gold reserves, but it is mining more new gold than any other country. Similarly, Australia has just 280 metric tons of gold in its reserves, but it houses the largest gold mine reserves in the world along with the second largest gold producer.
The countries with the largest gold reserves, as of June 2017, include:
- United States: 8,133.5
- Germany: 3,374.1
- Italy: 2,451.8
- France: 2,435.9
- China: 1,842.6
- Russia: 1,715.8
- Switzerland: 1,040.0
* Amounts in metric tons.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) also holds 2,814 metric tons of gold, while the European Central Bank (ECB) holds about 504.8 metric tons in its reserves.
Several countries contribute gold to these organizations to support their value and ensure their stability during times of uncertainty.
The Bottom Line
Modern countries may have moved off of the gold standard, but most central banks still hold gold reserves. The simple reason is that gold is the most widely accepted currency-like device that requires no third-party guarantee and is accepted anywhere. It serves as a critical failsafe in the event of a major financial catastrophe and helps support the intrinsic value of currencies by setting a floor for their valuation by global
Which Countries Have the Largest Gold Reserves Conclusion
For more information about currency trading brokers visit TopForexBrokers.com Forex brokers comparison website, Tip ForexSQ.com foreign exchange trading experts please by share this article about Which Countries Have the Largest Gold Reserves.
