Venezuela's gold stock to lowest level in 50 years

Venezuela's gold reserves have continued to decline in the first half of this year to 98 tonnes, the lowest level in fifty years. This is according to new figures from their central bank. The country has had to sell a lot of gold in recent years under the leadership of President Maduro, because it no longer has any currency reserves. Until five years ago, Venezuela still had a gold reserve of about 350 tons.

Since the drop in oil prices at the end of 2014, the South American country has fallen into a deep crisis. Their economy is highly dependent on oil exports and came to a near standstill due to the low oil price. The domestic currency became worthless, and the central bank had to draw on foreign exchange reserves to pay for the import of goods.

Venezuela sells gold reserves

The bottom of the treasury is now in sight, so even the gold stock has to suffer. Maduro is said to have sold gold to Turkey and Iran, among others, in recent years. Also, some of the gold would be in the United Arab Emirates ended up. The gold that the central bank had pledged to banks such as Deutsche Bank and Citigroup was also disposed of.

Over the past five years, Venezuela has sold a total of nearly 250 tons of gold. This makes it one of the few countries in the world that still sells. Many other central banks, on the other hand, are adding more precious metals to their reserves. However, the South American country has little choice, given the economic crisis and sanctions imposed on Maduro's government. Bank balances have been blocked, leaving him with only the gold reserve.

Bank of England

Recently, Maduro lost a court case over Venezuelan gold at the Bank of England. The British Courts Ruled that he is not the legitimate president, because the elections in his country were not fair. As a result, he was denied access to the gold, the status of the precious metal that is still in London has become unclear. That is a warning to all countries that still hold gold with the Bank of England, but do not have a good relationship with the US.

Venezuela's gold stock to lowest level in 50 years

This contribution was made from Geotrendlines