UK managed to sell more than half of its gold reserves at an average $275 per ounce - the very bottom of a 20-year bear market

For years, the International Monetary Fund has played a crucial role trying to shore up the tattered economies of bankrupt nations. Now the IMF’s own finances are in a mess, forcing it to consider the sale of around 400 million tonnes of gold out of its total reserves of a little over 3,200 tonnes - the world’s third largest after the US and Germany. The prospect of a sale, which has not yet been approved but could raise $12 billion at current prices, is the latest factor to have triggered volatility in the global gold market.