Details of U.S. Gold Reserves Policy (and links to those of 7 other countries)

Lorimer Wilson December 21, 2016 Comments Off on Details of U.S. Gold Reserves Policy (and links to those of 7 other countries) 2,161 Views

Perhaps more than any other country, the U.S. gold reserves create intrigue and controversy due to their claimed size, and also because the U.S. gold stocks have never been physically audited and verified by a entity independent of the U.S. government. [This article highlights what little is known about the U.S. government’s policy and provides links to articles on the policies of Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Switzerland, France, Russia & Austria.]

The comments above and below are excerpts from an article by BullionStar.com which has been edited ([ ]) and abridged (…) to provide a fast & easy read.

The U.S. possesses the largest reported monetary gold reserves in the world at 8,133.5 tonnes, owned by the U.S. Treasury and predominantly stored in the custody of the U.S. Mint and to a small extent in the custody of the New York Federal Reserve. All U.S. gold reserves are held within the continental United States.

The U.S. Treasury has, since 1973, valued its gold reserves at a statutory price of $42.2222 per ounce. At this book value, the Treasury’s claimed gold reserves are valued at approximately $11 billion. At a market value, the claimed U.S. gold reserves would be worth about $350 billion.
In 2011, gold bar weight lists for all U.S. gold reserves were published as part of a U.S. House of Representatives committee hearing into oversight of the U.S. gold holdings. However, nothing in the list is verifiable since the U.S. gold holdings have never been independently physically audited.
The U.S. Treasury claims to hold 95% of its gold at the U.S. Mint facilities in Fort Knox, West Point and Denver. Two of these facilities, Fort Knox and West Point, are adjacent US military facilities. The U.S. Mint in Denver is not. It’s located on a city block.
The audit history of the U.S. Treasury’s gold holdings since the 1970s is an opaque subject and difficult to decipher. The U.S. Treasury and U.S. Mint are not transparent on the topic and appear to have lost many of the historic audit reports.

For details of the gold storage policies of Central Banks of other major countries click on the following links:

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