Gold
Venezuela uses stealth to sell gold reserves – reports
Maduro regime allegedly removed 8 tonnes from central bank last week
Venezuela to sell 15 tonnes of gold to UAE, reports say
US senator warns of sanctions if UAE co-operates with Maduro regime
Central bank gold purchases soar to highest level since 1971
Russia, Turkey and Kazakhstan accumulated the most gold in 2018
Bank of England kept gold reserves from Venezuelan government, reports say
BoE declines to comment on reports as US government ramps up pressure on Maduro regime
Hungarian central bank increases gold reserve tenfold
Governor Matolcsy says prime minister asked MNB to reconsider gold policy
Central banks accelerate gold purchases in 2018
This has been the strongest period of gold buying since 2015, WGC says
Is the pursuit of a common accounting standard for monetary gold a fool’s errand?
More consistent accounting for monetary gold could address transparency concerns and help smaller emerging economies to achieve greater independence by clarifying treasury transfers
Central banks need a consistent approach to accounting for monetary gold
Kenneth Sullivan presents a case study highlighting the challenges for central banks in consistently accounting for monetary gold
Global gold demand weakens despite central bank surge
WGC figures show Q1 demand was its lowest for 10 years, though central banks bought more
World Gold Council launches gold accounting framework
Guidance aims to help central banks harmonise the treatment of gold in their accounts in a way that meshes with broader reserves accounting
Central banks built up gold reserves in 2017
2017 sees eighth consecutive year of net purchases, though only a handful of central banks made substantial changes
UK Royal Mint to use blockchain to track gold trades
System will track ownership of gold traded on new platform without the need of a central database; new system will charge small transaction fees but abolish storage fees
Bundesbank moves 20% of gold reserves back to Germany
Bundesbank no longer stores gold in Paris
Central banks eye gold amid global uncertainty
Rising inflation and the unclear impact of Trump administration policies may lead reserve managers to view gold – and inflation-linked bonds – more favourably
Central bank gold purchases near record levels
World Gold Council argues negative interest rates make gold a favourable asset, but Thomson Reuters team sees other factors at play
Bundesbank over halfway towards gold repatriation goal
Deutsche Bundesbank repatriated 210 tonnes of gold in 2015, it says; 41% of gold reserves now housed in Frankfurt
Austria to repatriate third of gold reserves
Central bank plans to move gold out of the UK and into Austria and Switzerland after court of audit raises concern over ‘high concentration risk’
Lithuania bought 1.6 tonnes of gold as part of euro switch
Purchases representing around 25% of total gold holdings made during switch to euro; Bank of Lithuania investment director tells Central Banking investments are now more diverse
Swiss public reject gold initiative
Referendum sees 77.3% of vote against forcing the SNB to hold 20% of its assets in gold, and prevent it from ever selling them; central bank welcomes the result
Netherlands Bank moves 122.5 tonnes of gold from New York to Amsterdam
Central bank will now keep 31% of its gold reserves in own country; move was designed to create a more even distribution of its reserves across the globe
SNB speaks out against 'gold initiative'
Swiss National Bank rejects proposals to prevent it from selling gold; Jean-Pierre Danthine argues that ‘currency reserves that cannot be sold are not truly reserves’
Central Bank of Ecuador deposits half its gold with Goldman Sachs
Three-year deal sees the bank swap half-a-million ounces of bullion for ‘high security instruments and liquidity', ostensibly to cover government's widening fiscal deficit
European central banks strike new gold agreement
Central banks in the eurozone, Sweden and Switzerland agree to coordinate their gold transactions, but scrap the 400-tonne limit on annual sales
Swiss upper house rejects initiative that would force SNB to double gold holdings
Proposal that would require central bank to hold at least 20% of total assets in gold is slated for referendum but political establishment is strongly opposed