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Central Bank of Sri Lanka said falling prices are an opportunity for nations to raise gold reserves.
The Bank of Korea said the gold price plunge is not a big concern because short-term price moves are an unavoidable risk and holding the metal is part of a long-term strategy for diversifying currency reserves.
Guy Debelle at Reserve Bank of Australia said gold has little intrinsic value and often has a high price because people believe that other people believe that it’s worth a lot – when you describe other markets like that, the word ‘bubble’ gets thrown about.
South Africa’s central bank will not adjust its reserves policy.
The WGC said central banks own 19 percent of all the gold ever mined, and last year boosted their holdings by the most since 1964. The US and Germany are the biggest holders, accounting for more than 70 percent of their total reserves. Russia is the 7th biggest holder.
Goldman Sachs said the gold selloff was sparked by mounting concern that Cyprus would be forced to sell gold and potentially reflected a larger monetization of gold reserves across other European central banks.
John Reade at Paulson & Co. said Paulson is sticking with his thesis that gold is the best hedge against inflation and currency debasement.
Central banks in Europe, including non-euro members Sweden and Switzerland, have committed to keep their sales of gold below 400 tons a year until at least Sept. 27, 2014.
The FRB of Minneapolis says gold’s 1980 peak of $850 is equal to $2,413 today when adjusted for inflation.
Read the full article at http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-16/gold-tumble-divides-central-banks-as-sri-lanka-sees-opportunity.html
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