ESA 95:  Since 1999, the NAI, in accordance with the obligation imposed by Eurostat, has applied the ESA 95 methodology for compiling the national accounts, instead of the ESA 79 methodology.
This new system gives a more accurate and complete picture of economic developments (1). It also provides a better guarantee of the international comparability of the macroeconomic data.

In the chapter devoted to the international environment, the presentation has also been adapted to the introduction of ESA 95 or its equivalent, the United Nations System of National Accounts (SNA 1993). The new methodology is now very widely used in the sources to which reference is made in the Report, principally the EC and the OECD.

Here a table of the planned sales "as forecasted" on 1999-09-26.

Well, 60 countries have deposited their gold in the vaults of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, this must amount to the 6 653 tons of gold the Federal Reserve reports as holding "under earmark". In the same monthly document, the Federal Reserve reports holding 8 135 tons for US system.

This amounts to 14 788 tons, about the half of the total gold reserves in all central banks in the world.

Liberty Street 33 New York, NY

Here we are speculating again:
Some countries have been cleaned out & if one presumes that they've leased/swapped out approx 15 000 tons then they are only holding approx 8 000 tons which is what the US is purported to be holding.

Most recent inventory I know of is a Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Central Bank Directory 2001. Almost 2 years old.

Another set of data is available from the World Gold Council. official holdings as per December 2003.

The central banks were reputed to hold together 29000-30000 tons of gold. (Gold? Gold Equivalents? Leased? Swapped? IOUs?)

No answer for this: in the Euro zone, the gold reserves are labeled Gold and gold receivables which the Belgian CB completes with, The Bank lends part of its gold assets against a guarantee covering the credit risk.

Need of covering the credit risk has been demonstrated by the Portugal CB loss of 90 tons.

So, until proven wrong, I would not add the reserves of the IMF, BIS, ECB, CEMAC or WAEMU to the total of gold as these are merely stocked in the name of national banks, but functionally regulated by the diverse monetary unions. So doing, I have a total of 27 415.4 tons of official gold of which the monetary unions manage 4 221.2 tons.

Traced CB sales:

So, one can say that, there is about 30 000 tons of gold available in the central banks, less what has been leased and at credit risk or sold with postponed payment.
One could also speculate that leased gold has been absorbed by the market to cover the production deficit.

How much is left?

Care to guess? Not me! Ask Frank Veneroso

From what is left, how much would the Central Banks be willing to sell into the markets?

So when one adds up what they've got & what's left to sell & who would want to sell into a rising market you see this major problem.

Looking at the production/demand stats - also a looming problem as the CB's have been necessary to feed the deficit.

With little left to sell & burgeoning demand & lowering production the CB's have a major problem in keeping the perception alive that they have plenty to sell & will keep on deeding the deficit .
See Nick's charts of World Gold Production and Demand

My comment: Julian has a broader list of conclusions and speculations than I have. I mostly agree with them except for a return of a financial system backed with gold. My opinion is that the next financial system will be based on the capacity of a borrower to service the debt and forget about the principal.

OPEN LETTER TO PRIME MINISTER TONY BLAIR

OPEN LETTER TO PRIME MINISTER TONY BLAIR
7/7/1999


    Dear Prime Minister:

                               The Gold Market

    We the undersigned represent some of the largest gold mining companies in
the world.  The recent sharp fall in the price of gold, particularly since the
announcement by the British government of its intention to sell more than half
of its gold reserves, is naturally of great concern to us.  In our opinion, it
threatens the financial stability of those developing nations who produce
gold.  It is also our perception that the latest downward price movement was
indeed triggered by that announcement.

    On 16 June 1999, in the House of Commons, Mr. Quentin Davies, from the
Opposition Front Bench, speaking in the debate on gold sales, said that there
is a persistent rumor concerning the position of international investment
banks.  Mr. Davies said:

         "...We cannot allow the rumors to grow, because they are extremely
     dangerous to public confidence.  It has been suggested that the market is
     very short of gold, that the short positions may be a substantial
     multiple of the total amount of gold currently held by the Bank of
     England, and that the Bank's real motive is to save the bacon of firms
     that are running those short positions.  ...Has the Government's whole
     plan been simply to drive down the gold price by whatever means, fair or
     foul, to save the position of certain figures in the city which,
     apparently, are so short and potentially in such trouble?"

    The fact these rumors stem from the timing of your government's
announcement, coupled with the methodology selected to conduct the sale, leads
us to ask your government's assistance in this matter.  We believe it would be
helpful for you to make a public denial of these rumors or investigate them
publicly.

    Yours faithfully,

    Ronald C. Cambre, Chairmen, President and C.E.O, Newmont Mining
     Corporation, USA
    John M. Willson, President and C.E.O., Placer Dome Inc., Canada
    Sam E.K. Jonah, Chief Executive, Ashanti Goldfields, Ghana
    Chris M.T. Thompson, Chairman, Gold Fields Limited, South Africa
    Jack E. Thompson, Chairman and C.E.O., Homestake Mining Company, USA
    R.M. (Bobby) Godsell, Chief Executive Officer, Anglogold, South Africa

SOURCE  Newmont Mining Corporation

• Restructuring the UK's Reserve Holdings: Gold Auctions (PR Bank of England 1999-05-07)

See also:

• What gold? (own, 2003-10-01)
• ole Swissie ain't no Swissie anymore (own, 2003-10-01)
• Gold Fields mMineral Services, Gold Survey sample (of year 2000, figure 6 is a diagram around the WAG)