Which Country Owns the Most Gold?
As a means of currency and as a way to hedge against inflation, many countries have gold reserves. These reserves are often held in official bank vaults, as well as in private holdings.
The United States is currently the largest holder of gold, with 8,133 tonnes in official stores. However, most countries hold fewer than 3,000 metric tonnes.
United States
The United States owns the most gold because it is the country that adopted the gold standard, which ties exchange rates to the precious metal. This helped President Franklin Delano Roosevelt stimulate the economy during the Great Depression.
In addition, the government used gold as a tool to control inflation. By seizing gold, it could print more money and purchase more dollars on the international market to shore up its exchange rate.
Today, however, the United States has free-floating exchange rates that do not tie exchange rates to the gold value. This is important because it allows countries to print money and cut interest rates in times of crisis without having to control their monetary policy.
Germany
Germany is known for its advanced infrastructure, economic strength, and high standard of living. But it’s also a country that has changed the world for good through science, literature, music, philosophy, art and activism.
Gold is an integral part of this. Over 26 million Germans own investment gold in the form of bars and coins, and the German public is embracing this as the ultimate protection against inflation, save haven property and store of value.
However, in an attempt to curb gold sales to the public, Germany has now introduced a new rule that requires bullion dealers to collect customer details when buying over-the-counter. The government claims this is to help protect against money laundering, but it’s likely just a means to track people’s gold purchases.
Italy
While the United States leads the world in gold holdings, Germany, France and Italy are also countries that hold substantial amounts of this precious metal.
The Italian government does not intend to sell any part of its gold reserves to plug budget holes, a top lawmaker from the ruling League party said on Wednesday.
The EU treaties clearly state that the ownership of official gold reserves must not be transferred from the balance sheet of the Bank of Italy to that of the Italian State. However, the League has tabled a bill to parliament seeking to put ownership of the gold directly under the Italian State.
France
France is famous for many things, from the Eiffel tower to the Louvre Museum to its fabulous food and wine. It also hosts some of the world’s best sports teams, and is a popular tourist destination.
The country’s gold reserves are kept in secure vaults under the Banque de France in Paris. They are one of the four designated depositories for gold by the International Monetary Fund.
Japan
Unlike China, Japan does not produce gold, so it is largely reliant on importing it. However, it has developed a mature gold market which is well liberalized.
TOCOM, Japan’s main futures exchange, is by far the largest commodity exchange in the world and conducts a wide range of gold trading. It also has a number of designated gold warehouses which allow the sale and purchase of gold for export and import.
India
India is one of the world’s biggest gold consumers. Its love for the yellow metal is fueled by its long history of buying and selling it.
Its central bank, the Reserve Bank of India, is among the top 10 countries with the highest gold reserves. Its reserves are currently valued at $33.9 billion, up from $24 billion in February.
However, despite its popularity in India, the country has no real plan to increase gold production from existing mines. The only way to do this would be to develop new deposits, which would require a lot of capital investment.