Gold reserve - a reserve of gold, which is necessary to stabilize the exchange rate of the state currency. This fund is a national treasure and is controlled by the country's main bank.
From the history
Gold has attracted people since time immemorial. The yellow metal was held in high esteem by the Sumerians, in Ancient Egypt and the Middle East. Until the beginning of the 18th century, gold was not mined in Russia; it was imported from abroad. The first Russian deposit appeared in 1732 near Arkhangelsk. Over the years, new gold veins appeared, mines were opened. Today Russia is one of the three leaders in the extraction of precious metals, behind China and Australia. Over the entire history of mankind, more than 160 thousand tons of it have been mined, which is estimated at 9 trillion dollars. Most of the gold exists in jewelry, and some of it is distributed to the electronics industry, dentistry, and investment. About 30 thousand tons are contained in the central banks of the countries of the world.
For thousands of years, precious metals have been stored and used to determine how rich a state is. Now gold is just an alternative to storing currency. The World Gold Council is making adjustments to the precious metal stockpile information. Switzerland and Canada are selling off their reserves, while developing countries like Russia are buying up as much as possible. There is a table that reflects a dozen states - the leaders of the holders of gold.
US Gold Fund
For several decades the state has been holding a leading position in the ranking of the world's "golden" countries. At the moment, the country's vault contains 8133.45 tons of the purest gold, which is approximately 75% of America's foreign exchange reserve. Thanks to this, the United States is considered a world power, and the dollar is the world currency.
However, the United States' gold reserve raises many questions. What is the actual stock of the yellow metal, how are these resources stored, and is it actually present? The presence of a precious metal fund in the United States raises more and more doubts. The case of the loss of German gold, which is stored in the States, can be considered a key factor indicating the absence of the precious metal in Fort Knox. Initially, the American authorities did everything to postpone negotiations on the extradition of a precious metal belonging to Germany. During the year, the United States paid a small part, while refusing to let German specialists into the storage facilities.
The gold of other countries is still stored in the bins of the United States, some keep only a part of their reserves, others keep everything they have. Now the American government authorities in every possible way obstruct the audit, and it is not possible to find out the real amount of gold in the vaults.
Germany Foundation
Among all European countries, Germany has the largest gold fund. The stock of precious coins of Germany is 3386 tons. More recently, the German federal authorities decided to demand that France and the United States return part of the funds. The question of where the reserves are also remains open. Legally in the USA, but in fact … Is it true that the state reserve has disappeared? There is a version that America does not give gold, because it is afraid that the Germans are going to leave the EU zone, return the brand to circulation and provide it with its own precious metal. After all, half of Europe has less gold reserves than Germany. Therefore, at the moment it is rather difficult to establish where the reserve of the yellow metal belonging to her is located.
European reserves
Italy occupies an honorable 4th place in the ranking among the countries of the world and 2nd among European countries. The country's gold and foreign exchange fund has been 2451.8 tons for many years. Despite all the debt problems, the state authorities do not even think to waste their resources. France, on the contrary, was actively selling gold until 2009. In the 2000s, there were more than 3000 tons on the account, today the state accounts for only 2440 tons and occupies the 5th place in the world in terms of gold reserves.
Switzerland's gold reserves were previously used to secure the national currency and were sold until 2008, starting at 2,590 tons. Since 2009, the amount of precious metal in the country has remained stable at 1,044 tons. At the moment, the gold reserve of the state ranks 8th in the world, plays the role of an important reserve of the country and is considered as part of gold and foreign exchange assets.
The Netherlands took the 10th place in terms of reserves of the yellow metal among the countries of the world, today the gold and foreign exchange reserve is 612 tons. After the situation with German gold, state authorities also announced the repatriation of the precious metal from the vault of the US Federal Reserve. This decision was also explained by the desire for a more balanced distribution of gold reserves.
Storage facilities of Japan and China
It is quite difficult to establish how much of the precious metal China actually has, since this country is famous for its secrecy and caution. Since 2016, according to official data, the state owns 1,842 tons of the yellow metal, and is in 7th place in the ranking. In recent years, the import of the precious metal into the Celestial Empire has grown exponentially, but the authorities say that the reserves have grown slightly. Experts say the government is clearly not telling the whole truth, and China owns a lot more gold. It remains to be seen how much of China's gold reserves actually are. Japan's gold reserve has remained unchanged for many years and amounts to 765 tons of pure gold. In terms of the safety of the precious metal, the country of the Rising Sun takes 9th place.
Gold fund of the Russian Federation
Despite the fact that the price of bullion is growing, Russia is actively buying gold. At the end of the second half of 2018, the Russian Federation replenished its stock by 92 tons - a record amount in the history of the state. Now in the reserve of the Russian Federation 2070 tons and 6th place in the world. The dynamics of the growth of the gold and foreign exchange reserve allows the government to give guarantees on the safety of the ruble's positions in 2019 and to avoid inflation. This trend will also make the situation in the country's economy stable. The government believes that the growth of gold holdings will entail the further development of the national industry for the extraction of the precious metal. The program provides that 50 more deposits will appear on the territory of the Russian Federation and this will increase the volume of extraction of the precious metal in the next two years by 50-60%.
The bulk of the national reserve is kept in the Moscow Central Bank of Russia. The area of the "safe" is 17 thousand square meters, of which a tenth was set aside for shelves for storing ingots. Each weighs 10-14 kilograms. Here the metal is contained in almost pure form - the highest 999 standard. There are reserve facilities in the Northern Capital and Yekaterinburg. The storage facilities are reliably protected, special control of the special services guarantees a properly organized access to valuables. The facilities are equipped with modern security systems. In addition, 6,000 steel boxes are registered by the Central Bank, which will reliably protect ingots in case of fire.
Other states
Canada is not on the list of countries with gold reserves. For the first time in eight decades, she sold her own funds, which amounted to 3.4 tons. The last ingot went on sale in 2003, coins in 2014. The state invested the gained profit in the acquisition of foreign currency.
The number of powers that have a reserve of gold today has exceeded a hundred. The Solomon Islands, Laos and El Salvador round out the table.
Private reserves
The largest amount of gold reserves is held in private hands. For example, according to 2011 data, Indian citizens owned 18 thousand tons of the yellow metal. This is ten times less than the reserve kept in Indian banks. This tendency is inherent in many states of the world. Private funds from Switzerland, Great Britain and the USA are actively trading on world exchanges.
Benefits of the Gold Reserve
The precious metal reserve serves as a guarantee of state protection. This may become relevant at a time when the national currency loses its significance. The main advantage of the gold reserve is its easy convertibility. Gold metal can be exchanged for other values in most countries of the world. Therefore, governments sometimes use gold reserves as collateral for loan obligations. Reserves are also used to cover debts, but this is an exceptional case. As you know, gold reserves have been preserved for decades, and countries continue to replenish them.
