How Much Gold Does the IMF Have?
IMF holds considerable gold reserves – an artifact from when member nations paid 25 percent of their initial quotas in gold – due to past practice of providing member nations with initial quota payments through gold payments. According to Articles of Agreement, however, any proceeds generated from selling this gold are limited in their use by IMF policies.
This restriction could be modified by permitting members to link windfall gold profits with contributions for IMF loans with reduced rates of interest for poor countries.
It’s a sign of financial strength
Gold is a scarce resource that is seen as a sign of financial strength by many countries; thus a request to sell IMF gold could cause political outrage in several nations.
The Fund has depositories located in New York, London, Shanghai, Paris and Bombay and any member submitting his/her gold subscription may choose any one of them for depositing his/her subscription. Furthermore, in 1999-2000 the IMF conducted a separate operation selling some of its gold holdings at market prices to two members who then used those proceeds to settle outstanding financial obligations to the Fund without impacting global gold markets in any way.
Data suggests that global central bank purchases in March were almost perfectly offset by sales, leaving net reserves unchanged. Since the crisis, gold reserves have experienced an unexpected upswing owing to factors including lower interest rates on reserve currencies, reduced return differentials between financial assets and physical goods and perceptions of geopolitical risks.
It’s a symbol of stability
Gold assets of the IMF serve as a symbol of financial strength and are an essential safeguard against creditors claiming against it. While other assets can easily be liquidated, gold provides greater financial stability that aids member countries.
Gold is held in international depositories. According to IMF Rules (Rule F-1) and Rule E-1 from pre-1978, at least fifty percent of IMF gold should be stored in New York, London, Shanghai, Paris or Bombay; earlier drafts listed Moscow and South Africa but these were removed later during implementation of the Second Amendment to its Articles and By-Laws.
IMF gold sales are being conducted in an orderly and structured fashion to minimize their effect on global markets. Their approach relies on selling off-market to central banks over an auction schedule with spaced out transactions.
It’s a way to give countries breathing room
As part of its activities, the IMF sells off some of its gold reserves. Profits from such sales will go to individual members in exchange for contributions to its Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT), which offers low-interest concessional lending programs for low-income countries.
Between 1946 and the late 1970s, IMF gold holdings were amassed through its members’ initial subscriptions and subsequent increases as well as from other sources like repayment obligations or gold restitution transactions.
Gold sales from the IMF not only provide liquidity, but they are also an important way of providing financial strength and a backstop against creditor claims against it. This is particularly vital at a time when global economies face difficulties like Covid-19 pandemic outbreak and declines in commodity prices.
It’s a source of windfall profits
As the global economy began its recovery from crisis, gold prices increased, which allowed IMF to sell 403.3 tonnes at higher-than-anticipated prices and generate unexpected windfall profits.
IMF gold holdings are valued at 90.5 million troy ounces and can only be sold with approval of a majority of its Executive Board.
Directors have been discussing various options for allocating remaining gold sales profits to charity, including transferring them to the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT), using them for precautionary balances or investing them in an endowment account. At present, there remains disagreement among Board members as to the best use of these proceeds; some could support combining elements from all three options, as some could support an approach that combines elements from each of them; in the interim these funds remain invested in short-term official deposits until a decision has been reached; while IMF staff are also seeking assurances from members regarding distribution of windfall profits.
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