Gold bulls received a boost yesterday as European central banks renewed a five-year agreement by committing not to sell “significant” amounts of the precious metal.
Under the current Central Bank Gold Agreement, which expires in September, the eurozone countries plus Sweden and Switzerland pledged not to sell more than 400 tonnes of bullion from their combined holdings each year. The deal reaffirms a commitment to bullion as a monetary reserve but drops quotas – a recognition of European governments’ lack of interest in offloading gold.
In a statement, the central banks said they would “continue to co-ordinate gold transactions so as to avoid market disturbances”.