Click to play videoNew York: It's a commodity that's been coveted throughout the ages — in jewellery, art and of course on the silver screen. The Oscar itself is plated with gold.
But when it comes to serious amounts of gold, even the fabulously wealthy can't hold a candle to the world's richest governments, which, according to an estimate, hold about 20 per cent of the world's bullion.
US and European Union are significant holders of gold as an official reserve. There’s been speculation that China, Russia and sovereign wealth funds of the Mid-East might expand their holdings in gold but so far that has been limited.
The US has the largest gold holdings in the world — more than 8,000 tons of it in reserve. Billions of dollars worth of the stuff are held at the New York Federal Reserve in Lower Manhattan. A large chunk of the world's entire gold reserves stashed away in an underground vault 50 feet below sea level.
The US has almost three times the gold reserves as second-ranked Germany. The IMF is third, followed by France and Italy.
One country that has seen its holdings dramatically shrink is Britain. It sold off much of its horde between 1999 and 2002 when gold was trading at a fraction of its current price.
These days, gold investment funds hold more bullion than the Brits. These funds are together the world's seventh largest holders of gold overall and a major force driving prices higher.
Seems like everyone these days wants a piece of gold, not only as a hedge against inflation but because it’s one of the few hot markets out there.
Going forward, the real growth in gold buying could one day come from emerging markets.
They're holdings may be modest now but clearly the focus on China and the Persian Gulf countries is important.
These countries, through petrodollars and the Chinese economic, have such large foreign reserves that they may diversify those exchange holdings into gold as a hedge the way other private investors have done.
If that happens, 1,000 dollar gold could one day appear cheap as a new generation of global gold fingers emerges.
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