10 countries hoarding huge piles of gold

 

The world's biggest gold bugs

These nations hold the largest reserves of the precious metal, according to the World Gold Council.

No. 1: United States   美国  8133吨

Official gold holdings: 8,133.5 tonnes

Percent of foreign reserves in gold: 71.9 percent

The U.S. had its largest gold reserves in volume terms in 1952, when reserves totaled 20,663 tonnes. Holdings first fell below the 10,000 mark in 1968.

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No. 2: Germany   德国   3384吨

Official gold holdings: 3,384.2 tonnes

Percent of foreign reserves in gold: 68.4 percent

Germany reduced its gold holdings in October. The Bundesbank sells 6 to 7 tonnes to the finance ministry every year. Germany sold gold under CBGA 1 and 2 for the purposes of minting commemorative gold coins. In the first year of CBGA3 (2008-2009), the Bundesbank sold approximately 6 tonnes, and it has sold 4.7 tonnes of gold since Sept. 7, 2011.

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No. 3: Italy   意大利   2451吨

Official gold holdings: 2,451.8 tonnes

Percent of foreign reserves in gold: 67 percent

Italy sold no gold under CBGA 1 or 2 and has announced no sales under CBGA3. But in 2011, Italian banks were looking to the Bank of Italy to buy gold and bolster their balance sheets ahead of stress tests.

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No. 4: France   法国   2435吨

Official gold holdings: 2,435.4 tonnes

Percent of foreign reserves in gold: 65.1 percent

France sold 572 tonnes of gold under CBGA 2, and outside of the agreement France transferred about 17 tonnes to the Bank for International Settlements in late 2004 as part of a purchase of BIS shares. France announced no plans for sales of gold reserves under CBGA 3.

Bank of France has said it won't sell gold reserves because it provides confidence and diversification and can absorb volatility in its balance sheet, Reuters reported.

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No. 5: Russia   俄罗斯  1094吨

Official gold holdings: 1,094.7 tonnes

Percent of foreign reserves in gold: 9.7 percent

Russia has increased its gold holding since February 2014 and has eclipsed both Switzerland and China. In August, Russia's central bank has decided to buy up even more gold and diversify away from the dollar and the euro as a result of the economic sanctions by the West.

Russia's central bank gold holdings crossed the 1,000-tonne mark for the first time in the third quarter of 2013.

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No. 6: China    中国   1054吨

Official gold holdings: 1,054.1 tonnes

Percent of foreign reserves in gold: 1.1 percent

China overtook India to be the world's largest gold consumer in 2013. Gold still accounts for a very small percentage of China's $3.7 trillion in foreign exchange reserves, compared with the international average of 10 percent. Building up gold reserves will be crucial to China as it moves to internationalize its currency, and hopes to make it a reserve currency, according to the Financial Times.

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No. 7: Switzerland    瑞士   1040吨

Official gold holdings: 1,040 tonnes

Percent of foreign reserves in gold: 8 percent

In July, the Swiss central bank reported a $17.7 billion half-year gain, partially because of recovering gold prices.

In 1997, proposals were announced to sell a portion of the country's gold reserves because they were no longer considered to be "necessary for monetary policy purposes," according to the World Gold Council. In May 2000 the country began selling 1,300 tonnes of what it considered to be surplus gold. Under CBGA1, 1,170 tonnes were sold, and 130 tones were sold under CBGA2. Switzerland has announced no plans to sell gold under CBGA 3.

Note: The first Central Bank Gold Agreement (CBGA 1) ran from Sept. 27, 1999 to Sept. 26, 2004. CBGA 2 ran from Sept. 27, 2004 to Sept. 26, 2009, and CBGA 3 will run for five years from Sept. 2009.

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No. 8: Japan   日本   765吨

Official gold holdings: 765.2 tonnes

Percent of foreign reserves in gold: 2.5 percent

Japan's gold reserves were at just 6 tonnes in 1950, and its central bank registered its first serious jump in gold holdings in 1959, with purchases increasing by 169 tonnes from the previous year.

In 2011, the Bank of Japan sold gold to pump ¥20 trillion into the economy to calm investors after the tsunami and nuclear disaster.

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No. 9: Netherlands    荷兰    612吨

Official gold holdings: 612.5 tonnes

Percent of foreign reserves in gold: 54.3 percent

A large portion of the Netherlands' gold reserves are held in the U.S., and some are held in Canada and the U.K. About 10 percent is expected to be held in Amsterdam. Earlier this year the Netherlands wanted to repatriate its gold.

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No. 10: India    印度   557吨

Official gold holdings: 557.7 tonnes

Percent of foreign reserves in gold: 7.3 percent

Gold imports by India are expected to decline for the third year, while the Indian central bank is monitoring the imports. In June, the Reserve Bank of India relaxed loan rules that banks can sanction against the pledging of gold "where the end use is not for agricultural purposes."

The government has been trying to deter people from purchasing the precious metal. Gold imports have been blamed for the nation's high current account deficit. India's central bank governor Raghuram Rajan has previously said the country can pay off its debt in gold.

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大英帝国的落榜，原因应该是：时任财政大臣的布朗（后英国首相）在黄金的底部价位约“$260-500/盎司”

时期大量抛售了大英帝国的“家底儿”，以至于现在“囊中羞涩”。

那也成为了后来的“笑柄”，是不是“美联储”戏耍了日趋衰落的大英帝国，不得而知。