Author`s name Dmitry Sudakov
Will the world take its gold back from the USA?
Business » Finance
How much gold does the Federal Reserve Bank of the US in Fort Knox have? Only auditors know the answer to this question. However, the amount of gold in the bank has been decreasing steadily, because foreign central banks currently tend to withdraw the gold reserves that they have been keeping there for many decades.
In 1949, Fort Knox was keeping 19,872 tons of gold. For example, France had taken most of its gold out of the country before WWII broke out. The French gold found a new home across the Atlantic Ocean. It appeared that all that gold was supposed to be returned home after the war ended, but Fort Knox did not want to bid farewell to it.
Today, the Federal Reserve Bank of the United States keeps nearly 6,000 tons of gold - this is the smallest amount in the last 20 years.
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The United States managed to obtain the gold assets of at least 60 countries, including Russia. However, it turns out that taking this gold back is not that easy.
"It is very typical for empires to keep the gold hoard of their colonies and dependent states, he said in his interview with the Russian news channel RT. The decision to claim it back does not please Washington as such, but it is very important for the independence of those states," Lew Rockwell, political commentator and editor believes.
Noteworthy, the US once tried to return gold-coated tungsten instead of real gold to China. Germany was trying to return its gold from the claws of the United States for a very long time, although to no avail. This may explain Germany's complaisance in the relations with the USA. The latter promises to give the German gold back to Germany, but for the time being, German auditors do not have access to the storage. Germany's gold reserve is second to the American one - 3,400 tons, and almost two-thirds of it is stored overseas.
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The Netherlands tried to follow the example of Germany. The local press informed the general public that 90% of the Dutch gold reserves (612.5 tons) was stored overseas. Afterwards, Austria stood in the line as well.
According to Lew Rockwell, the US Federal Reserve says that gold does not play a monetary role in today's world. In this case, however, they need to explain why so much gold, including foreign gold, is kept in the Federal Reserve Bank. The expert is convinced that the withdrawal of gold from the Federal Reserve Bank will show a positive influence on global economy.
Alya Pustova
Read article in Russian on politonline.ru