TOP 10 GOLD HOLDING COUNTRIES

10. India Official gold holdings: 557.7 tonnes Percent of foreign reserves in gold: 9.6% The government has been trying to deter people from purchasing the precious metal. Gold imports are blamed for the nation's record high current account deficit. 9. Netherlands Official gold holdings: 612.5 tonnes Percent of foreign reserves in gold: 58.7% Back in 1999, the Netherlands announced under the Central Bank Gold Agreement (CBGA1) that it would sell 300 tonnes of gold during the next five years, but only managed to sell 235 tonnes. Under CBGA2 (2004/2005 '08/'09) it said it would sell a total of 165 tonnes (which included the 65 tonnes left over from CBGA1), and it announced no sales under CBGA3 (from 2008/2009  '13/'14). 8. Japan Official gold holdings: 765.2 tonnes Percent of foreign reserves in gold: 3.1% Japan's gold reserves were at just 6 tonnes in 1950, and its central bank registered its first serious jump in gold holdings in 1959, with purchases increasing by 169 tonnes from the previous year. In 2011, the Bank of Japan sold gold to pump 20 trillion into the economy to calm investors after the tsunami and nuclear disaster. 7. Russia Official gold holdings: 976.9 tonnes Percent of foreign reserves in gold: 9.5% Russia has been building its gold reserves since 2006 to diversify its Forex reserves, and to help build the ruble as an international reserve currency. In 2012, Russia added around 75 tonnes to its reserve holdings, mostly by purchasing domestically produced gold. 6. Switzerland Official gold holdings: 1,040.1 tonnes Percent of foreign reserves in gold: 10.0% In 1997 proposals were announced to sell a portion of the country's gold reserves because they were no longer considered to be "necessary for monetary policy purposes," according to the World Gold Council. In May 2000 the country began selling 1,300 tonnes of what it considered to be surplus gold. Under CBGA1 1,170 tonnes were sold, and 130 tones were sold under CBGA2. Switzerland has announced no plans to sell gold under CBGA 3. 5. China Official gold holdings: 1,054.1 tonnes Percent of foreign reserves in gold: 1.6% Gold still accounts for a very small percent of China's $3.2 trillion in foreign exchange reserves, compared with the international average of 10 percent. Building up gold reserves will be crucial to China as it moves to internationalize its currency, and hopes to make it a reserve currency, according to the Financial Times. 4. France Official gold holdings: 2,435.4 tonnes Percent of foreign reserves in gold: 69.5% France sold 572 tonnes of gold under CBGA 2, and outside of the agreement France transferred about 17 tonnes to the Bank for International Settlements in late 2004 as part purchase of BIS shares. France announced no plans for sales of gold reserves under CBGA 3. 3. Italy Official gold holdings: 2,451.8 tonnes Percent of foreign reserves in gold: 71.3% Italy sold no gold under CBGA 1 or 2 and has announced no sales under CBGA3. But in 2011, Italian banks were looking to the Bank of Italy to buy gold and bolster their balance sheets ahead of stress tests. 2. Germany Official gold holdings: 3,391.3 tonnes Percent of foreign reserves in gold: 72.1% Germany sold gold under CBGA 1 and 2 for the purposes of minting commemorative gold coins. In the first year of CBGA3 (2008 - 2009), the Bundesbank sold approximately 6 tonnes, and it has sold 4.7 tonnes of gold since September 7, 2011. There haven't been any changes in Germany's gold holding of late, but the Bundesbank announced in January that it was going to repatriate all of its physical reserves at Paris and the New York Fed. 1. United States Official gold holdings: 8,133.5 tonnes Percent of foreign reserves in gold: 75.1% The U.S. had its largest gold reserves in volume terms in 1952, when reserves totaled 20,663 tonnes. Holdings first fell below the 10K mark in 1968. __._,_.___