Gran Alacant and Area Forum

Brown’s not-so-golden legacy
By Nick Louth
May 07 2009

Ten years ago this week, Gordon Brown decided to sell half Britain's official reserves of gold, 395 tonnes.

During the course of 17 auctions, between July 1999 and March 2002, the Treasury raised $3.5 billion at an average price of $276.60 an ounce.

In hindsight, it's not turned out to be the smartest move the chancellor made. Whoever bought our gold has made a mint at our expense.

What it's worth now
That gold is now worth $11.2 billion (£7.47 billion), a trebling in value in a decade. If we'd kept it, we taxpayers would be nearly £5.3 billion better off.

Okay, that's not enough to dent the cost of saving the banks or balance the government's books this year. We'd need £175 billion for that.

Still, it's a lot of money. It's also the kind of return that leaves the stock market, which has fallen 30% since 1999, looking rather sick. But that's hindsight for you.

At the time, there were few voices criticising the move in principle, though plenty didn't feel advertising the size of the sale in advance would maximise the proceeds.

Massive though the sale was, the entire consignment only occupied 500 cubic feet. If the load was not so heavy it could have been removed in just three Ford Transit vans.

source:
http://money.uk.msn.com/investing/artic ... d=16646710

Ouch !

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