The gold reserve of the countries of the world acts as an indicator expressed in US dollars. It displays in full all currency and financial assets held by the state bank, which are used for operational regulation of the financial balance of states and are relevant at a clearly defined point in time.
Insurance and reserve funds
The gold reserve of the countries of the world is essentially a centralized reserve of gold in the format of bars and coins and acts as part of the official gold and foreign exchange reserves of states. It is at the disposal of the monetary authority of the country and under the control of world organizations that are engaged in lending. Today, this metal is used by almost all countries of the world as an “insurance airbag”. In the past, during the period of free rotation of a precious metal, it was used as collateral for payments between states, for payments within the country and for contributions.
A bit of history
In 1913, the gold reserves of the countries of the world (about 60%) were concentrated in the framework of centralized reserves. About 40% of the precious metal was in free float. As the economy developed and transformed, the metal was replaced by banknotes, which entailed its concentration in specialized funds. There was a period in history when the precious metal played the role of money in individual states of the world. Between 1929 and 1933, his role was to secure worldwide payments. In the post-war period (1939-1945), the weakening of the economy of most countries of the world led to a sharp increase in the role of gold. The stage of asset accumulation has begun in the framework of each individual country. Today, the leaders in terms of gold reserves are the following countries:
- America - 8133.46 tons.
- Germany - 3384.2 tons.
- Italy - 2451.84 tons.
- France - 2435.38 tons.
- Russia - 1208.2 tons.
The ten leaders include such states as China and Japan, Switzerland and the Netherlands, India.
Modern stocks
Modern gold reserves, which are kept by countries of different countries, are concentrated not only in the dominant banks of different countries, but also in the IMF reserve. The gold reserve of the countries of the world in 2014-2015 is estimated at 32 thousand tons. This volume does not include metal, which is currently in the hands of the world's population in the format of coins and jewelry. The replenishment of reserves occurs annually thanks to gold mining. To say the word, the gold reserve of the countries of the world (1/100 part) was mined for 5 years during the gold rush in California. Many scientists are inclined to believe that the precious metal itself is of cosmic origin, and modern ore deposits appeared on the planet about 4 billion years ago.
Distribution of the Gold Reserve in 2000
At the very beginning of 2000, the volume of gold mined amounted to about 150.4 thousand tons. They were differentiated as follows:
- About 30 thousand tons - in central banks and in international organizations.
- 79 thousand tons - in the format of jewelry.
- 17 thousand tons were spent on products in dentistry and in the electronics industry.
- 24 thousand tons are concentrated in the form of investments.
By 2009, the volume of gold reserves increased to 165 thousand tons worth more than $ 5 trillion. Gold reserves of the countries of the world (2013-2014) amounted to about 166.6 thousand tons. The amount of precious metal continues to increase.
The return of gold to the global financial system
Despite the abandonment of gold as a means of payment many years ago, countries continue to actively accumulate this precious metal, systematically increasing its purchases. In particular, the gold reserves of the countries of the world for 2014 increased sharply due to the buildup of the reserve by many leading countries:
- Russia increased its reserves in 2013 to 1, 040.71 tons, which is twice as much as it was recorded in 2009. In 2013, 150 tons of yellow metal were procured.
- In 2013, India increased its reserve from 35 tons to 67 tons.
- Actively increasing their reserves, but without official figures, such states as Kazakhstan, China and Iraq. China plans to increase the size of its gold fund to 10-11 thousand tons of gold.
- Brazil does not purchase metal, but it is actively building up its mining capacities. The government plans for the period from 2014 to 2021 include an increase in the volume of mining up to 180 tons per year.
Gold in the world arena
The rating of the gold reserve of the countries of the world would be formed by the events in history that took place in the 1930s. At that time, most of the world states feared the invasion of the Germans. Almost all of the gold reserves for the purpose of preservation were transported to the territory of America, where they are stored in a specialized depository of the Federal Reserve Bank of the United States in New York. The United States controls almost all of the IMF, which cannot sell its own gold reserve without the consent of the US Congress. This policy of the country does not satisfy all states, and from time to time, countries make attempts to return their savings home. For example, in 2011, Venezuela launched a large company, which was aimed at returning gold, which was at that time abroad, to the country. The result of such an event was the return to the territory of the state of more than 17 thousand ingots of 29 thousand that belong to the state. In America, most of the German stockpile is stored, which, despite desperate and intense attempts to return it home, has not been able to achieve the desired result. The panic in the world is caused by the fact that rumors about replacing precious metal in US vaults with its copies, gilded tungsten ingots are very widespread.
Guarantee keeper
The gold reserve of the countries of the world, for 2013, which amounted to a little less than 170 thousand tons, is today partially stored in America in a specialized storage facility. The room for the precious metal was built back in 1920, and it is located at a depth of about 25 meters underground. According to official data, about 6, 700 thousand tons of ingots worth 368.5 billion dollars are in storage today. An interesting fact is that 98 percent of all metal is not US property, but belongs to other states. An insignificant part of the gold reserve is in the reserves of France and England. The Federal Reserve Bank in the city of New York acts as the authorized custodian of the world's wealth.
