Precious metals (PM) return

Key facts

Data to be reported:	Physical stocks of allocated precious metals The allocated precious metals reported should meet or exceed the following levels of fineness: Gold – 995 parts per 1000 Platinum – 999.5 parts per 1000 Palladium – 999.5 parts per 1000 Silver – 999 parts per 1000
Who has to report:	A panel of reporting institutions selected by the Bank of England on the basis of their clearing activity in the precious metals market Check who needs to submit returns
Data uses:	Balance of Payments (ONS) National accounts (ONS)
Frequency:	Monthly
Coverage:	Go to reporting criteria to find detailed calculations used to determine eligibility

Deadlines

Firms need to report figures as at the last calendar day of the reporting period.

Go to reporting criteria to download deadlines for all returns for all available years.

Reporting period	Reporters impacted	Deadline (5pm UK time)	Concessionary deadline (5pm UK time)

Deadlines for 2027 will be released in November 2026.

Instructions

Overview of reported data

This return captures reporting institutions’ physical stocks of allocated precious metals held on own account and on behalf of customers and clients. It includes breakdowns by:

• precious metal type
• precious metal owner 

It also captures:

• resident/non-resident ownership

In every return firms also need to include:

• their company name
• their legal entity identifier (LEI) or firm reference number (FRN)
• the first day of the reporting period
• the last day of the reporting period

Core documents

You can find detailed instructions in the documents below. 

Precious metals (PM) specific documents

Document	Notes for PM reporters	Last updated
BoE statistics data point model (DPM) 1.3.0 (ZIP)	A folder containing two documents for defining all statistical reporting: annotated templates and a data dictionary The Table of Contents worksheet in the annotated templates shows reporting templates relating to form PM	24 Oct 2022
PM definitions (PDF)	Includes details of what’s in scope and definitions of PM-specific terms	1 Feb 2015
BoE statistics validations 1.3.0 (XLSX)	Business validations for cross-checking data points within form PM and the suite of other statistical returns View column O for a clearly worded description	24 Oct 2022

All statistical returns

Document	Notes for all reporters	Last updated
Classification of accounts guide (PDF)	Includes detailed guidance on how to classify counterparties plus country lists	24 Apr 2024
General notes and definitions (PDF)	Includes an introduction to preparing returns and definitions of common terms	24 Apr 2024