Board-Ansicht
Mix-Ansicht- Nomen est omen - Tofir, 30.11.2002, 11:30
Nomen est omen
-->Frankfurt, Nov. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Bundesbank may sell some of its $35 billion of gold, the second-largest holding by a central bank, to buy more profitable assets, executive board member Hans- Helmut Kotz said.
Such an action likely wouldn't come until the Washington agreement between 14 European banks and the European Central Bank to limit gold sales ends in 2004. Bundesbank's president, Ernst Welteke, in July said he wanted the accord renewed.
``There is the option, the idea, that some of the gold in the future be converted into a robust, but more profitable alternative,'' Kotz said in an interview with Bloomberg TV. ``One needs something like gold to underline the credibility of the institution. But one can't justify massive opportunity costs over a longer period of time.''
Central banks, as a group, mostly stopped buying gold in the early 1960s and have sold almost 211 million ounces since 1965. They still hold over 1 billion ounces, the largest holdings of gold in the world. Germany lags only the U.S. in gold holdings and has almost 111 million ounces, worth about $35 billion today.
Gold prices this year have jumped 14 percent as slowing world economies hurt stock markets and led some investors to seek an alternative. Gold in London was up 90 cents at $318.75 an ounce as of 8:26 a.m.
The central banks in the Washington accord account for about one-third of all gold held by governments. They signed the agreement to quell market rumors about sales that were hurting the gold price. Gold has gained by about a fifth since the accord was announced in September 1999. -END-
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