Last month, the IMF announced it would be putting for sale progressively on the market some 12.97 million ounces of gold. Although gold has lost the allure it held during the reign of the Bretton Woods agreement, it still features on the balance sheet of central banks throughout the Middle East. Gold played a vital role in the international monetary system until the collapse of the Bretton Woods structure of fixed exchange rates in 1973. Currencies started to be linked to a basket of currencies instead of gold, which reduced the importance of the precious metal as a mean of exchange. Nonetheless, gold remains a central asset in the reserve holdings of central banks in a number of countries. The IMF is one of the largest official holders of gold in the world with 103.4 million ounces, equivalent to 3,217 metric tons of gold, that by the time this issue
