Germany Lowers Gold Reserves; Russia, Kazakhstan Lift Holdings -IMF

Germany has lowered its gold reserves for the first time
in almost a year, reducing its total holdings by 150,000 troy ounces in
October, while central banks of developing economies continued to build up
their reserves.
The central bank of Germany, Bundesbank, lowered its reserves to 109.194
million ounces in October, from 109.344 million ounces in September, according
to the International Monetary Fund.
Last month, the European Central Bank had reported a decline in the value of
the Eurosystem's gold and gold receivables holdings for the week ending Oct. 7,
which it said reflected "the sale of gold commemorative coins by one Eurosystem
central bank."
The last time Germany's reserves were lowered was in December 2010, when the
Bundesbank reduced total holdings by 27,000 ounces, from 109.371 million
ounces. Germany is the world's second largest official gold holder, with around
71% of its foreign reserves held in bullion, according to the World Gold
Council.
Other central banks, however, added further to their reserves last month.
Russia continued its program of gold accumulation, lifting its reserves 627,000
ounces to 28.005 million ounces. Kazakhstan, Colombia and Belarus also reported
notable increases in their holdings.