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Gold reserves of the United Kingdom

The gold reserve of the United Kingdom is the amount of gold kept by Bank of England as a store of value of part of the United Kingdom's wealth. Leftover from the Gold Standard which the country abandoned in 1931, it is the 17th largest central bank reserve in the world with 310.29 tonnes of gold bars.[1]

History

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World War II

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Main article: Operation Fish

Prior to Britain's declaration of war in September 1939 vast amounts of gold were being shipped across the Atlantic to the United States via Montreal, Quebec, Canada to pay for weapons. After France was invaded by Nazi Germany, fear of Britain also suffering the same fate led to most of the country's gold being relocated under a secret operation known as Operation Fish. In May 1940, under the order of the UK Government; 280 tonnes of the nation's gold was transported from the Bank of England in London up to Martins' Bank in Liverpool ready to be shipped to Canada.

By the end of the war in 1945, Britain was estimated to have reserves in excess of 1772.94 tonnes, however, with incomplete records; the figure may have been higher.[2]

Brown's Bottom

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Main article: Sale of UK gold reserves, 1999–2002

In May 1999, then-Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown announced plans to sell off 415 tonnes of gold in order to diversify the country's reserves owing to the volatile value of gold.[3] The first series of sales amounting to 125 tonnes took place in the year 2000 across five auctions with each selling 25 tonnes.[4] By the end of 2002, UK gold reserves dropped to 355.25 tonnes while at the same time the value of gold increased dramatically leading to an estimated loss of £2,000,000,000 from the gold sold.[5]

Gold reserves

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Reserves from 1950 to 2015
UK Gold Reserves by year[2][6]
Year Tonnes +/- Change Year Tonnes +/- Change
Jan 2017 310.29   1972 656  
2016 310.29   1971 690  
2015 310.29   1970 1198  
2014 310.25   1969 1308  
2013 310.25   1968 1309  
2012 310.25   1967 1146  
2011 310.25   1966 1725  
2010 310.25   1965 2012  
2009 310.25   1964 1899  
2008 310.26   1963 2208  
2007 310.25   1962 2294  
2006 310.8   1961 2014  
2005 312.25   1960 2489  
2004 313.22   1959 2234  
2003 313.87   1958 2495  
2002 355.25   1957 1382  
2001 487.5   1956 1576  
2000 588.27   1955 1788  
1999 715   1954 2255  
1998 715   1953 2011  
1997 573   1952 1317  
1996 573   1951 1930  
1995 573   1950 2543  
1994 574   1945 1772.94  
1993 574   1940 1390.22  
1992 579   1935 1464.56  
1991 588   1930 1080  
1990 589   1925 1045.53  
1989 591   1920 863.75  
1988 591   1915 584.6  
1987 591   1913 248.09  
1986 591   1910 223.37  
1985 592   1905 199.21  
1984 592   1900 198.47  
1983 591   1895 304.67  
1982 591   1890 166.25  
1981 592   1885 141.35  
1980 586   1880 170.6  
1979 568   1875 153.8  
1978 710   1870 161.11  
1977 691   1865 93  
1976 654   1860 77.63  
1975 654   1855 74  
1974 654   1850 104.72  
1973 653   1845 82  

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "The countries with the largest gold reserves". The Telegraph. 13 July 2011. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b Green, Timothy (November 1999). "Central Bank Gold Reserves An historical perspective since 1845" (PDF). World Gold Council. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
  3. ^ Coyle, Diane (7 May 1999). "Britain stuns markets with plan to sell gold reserves". The Independent. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
  4. ^ "Business: The Economy Treasury offloads gold reserves". BBC. 7 May 1999. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
  5. ^ "Chancellor's '£2 billion gold bungle'". politics.co.uk. 15 April 2007. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
  6. ^ Watt, Holly (24 March 2010). "Explain why you sold Britain's gold, Gordon Brown told". The Telegraph. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
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