A group of 19 European central banks said today that they would cap gold sales at 2,000 tonnes over the next five years. They also stressed the importance of gold to the international monetary system.
In a joint statement, the central banks of the 16 euro zone nations, the European Central Bank and the central banks of Switzerland and Sweden said: 'Gold remains an important element of global monetary reserves.'
The new five-year agreement replaces a similar pact between central banks, which expires on September 27 this year.
The previous deal, agreed in March 2004, committed the central banks to sell no more than 500 tonnes per year and no more than 2,500 tonnes in the five-year period.
The deal before that, in 1999, was seen as a contributing factor to a revival in the gold price in the early part of the decade.
The announcement in 1999 was also a landmark because it is exceptional for central banks to make such statements of intent on a matter of such sensitivity to the monetary system.
