Spain to sell off more gold reserves

Spain's central bank sold another 25 tonnes of gold during July, taking the total sold during the current calendar year to 134 tonnes, Mineweb reports.

Although commentators had predicted that Spain would stop reducing its bullion holdings when it had sold around 100 tonnes, this has not proved to be the case.

The bank has also not said how much more it intends to sell in the future, although some suggest that it has been able to use the quota under the Central Bank Gold Agreement allocated to Germany.

With Switzerland also due to sell off up to 250 tonnes, it raises the question of how this will impact on world gold prices.

However, Mineweb analyst Rhona O'Connell notes that the Central Bank Gold Agreement exists so as to soften the blow when gold reserves are reduced.

The Swiss National Bank announced that it would sell 250 tonnes over the coming two years. This metal would have a total value of around $5.2 billion.

Meanwhile, Russias' gold and currency reserves increased by around 37 per cent between January and August, Neftegaz.ru reports.