Historic Gold Sales
Gold is held as part of the UK's official reserves.
In May 1999, the Government announced a restructuring of the reserves involving a programme of gold sales by auction to achieve a better balance in the portfolio by increasing the proportion held in currency.
Auctions of gold were held approximately bi-monthly between July 1999 and March 2002. Around 395 tonnes were sold by this means; the EEA's holdings of gold at the start of the programme had been approximately 715 tonnes. Following each auction, the proceeds of the gold sales were invested in foreign currency interest-bearing assets and retained in the reserves broadly in the proportion 40% dollars, 40% euros and 20% yen.
Click for further information on the gold sales programme, show
Click here to see all previous Market Notices, hide
- HMT's announcement of the programme of gold sales
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HMT's Review of the Sale of Part of the UK Gold Reserves (November 2002) - National Audit Office's review of the sale of part of the UK gold reserves (January 2001)
- House of Commons Public Accounts Committee's review of the sale of part of the UK gold reserves (December 2001)
Further information on the historic gold auctions can be found be searching News Releases.
Useful links
Details on the gold currently held as part of the UK's official reserves can be found in the EEA Annual Accounts or for time series of these data, see Data on UK official reserves.
