Bank of Greece says nation’s gold reserves total $6.2 billion

Greece’s gold reserves total roughly $6.2 billion at the end of 2012. This was made public after the nation’s central bank responded to a query made by a Golden Dawn Member of Parliament and the letter was forwarded to Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras. The note was obtained by Bloomberg News and was later published on the bank’s website.

The document confirmed to the Greek lawmakers that the gold reserves, which amount to 3.76 million ounces, are stored at the Bank of England, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and in Switzerland.

After reports surfaced that the Greek gold stored in England during the time of the Nazi occupation had never been returned, some legislators in Greece wanted to confirm with the central bank that the gold is still owned by the country.

Between 1946 and 1956, the gold was returned to Greece following World War II. These transfers can be found in the Bank of Greece’s annual reports in the years 1941, 1946 and 1950 and in the years proceeding.

In the summer of 2011, the International Monetary Fund announced in its report on international reserves that Gold had purchased 1,000 troy ounces of bullion. At the time, the acquisitions amounted to approximately $1.51 million.

“There has been a lot of speculation about what Greece will do with its gold, but I am very doubtful that sales will be on the table,” a senior trader at a European bank said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. “When I speak with central banks, they acknowledge gold sales make people worry even more. It’s like selling the family silver.”

There have been two trends as of late when it comes to central banks and gold: queries and purchases.

Global Gold News has reported that central banks bought the most gold last year since 1964, while Russia and many other central banks are around the world are still increasing their gold holdings this year.

In January, Germany made headlines around the world when the Bundesbank announced that it would be repatriating its gold held at the New York Federal Reserve, the Banque de France and the Bank of England.