TAIPEI: The value of the gold reserves held by the central bank has dropped by about NT$380 billion (US$11.59 billion) amid falling global gold prices, but the nation’s foreign exchange reserves remain at a record high.
With the US dollar strengthening, the price of gold has fallen to about US$1,076 per ounce in New York, the lowest in six years.
When compared with the peak price of US$1,920 per ounce in September 2011, it means that the value of the gold reserves at the central bank has declined by nearly NT$380 billion.
However, Taiwan’s foreign exchange reserves at the end of last month stood at US$426.774 billion, up US$449 million from September, according to the CBC.
It was the seventh consecutive monthly increase and the third straight monthly record.
A bank official said the bank’s gold reserves total about 13.62 million ounces, accounting for about 4 percent of its foreign exchange reserves, with the gold used mainly to finance the issuing of the New Taiwan dollar.
The central bank said it has no plans to increase or sell its gold reserves.
It said the average purchasing price of its gold is about US$400 per ounce, which has resulted in unrealized profits of about US$9.2 billion.
There is no interest on gold reserves, the Bank official said, adding that gold prices tend to fluctuate more than Treasury bonds.
In the long term, the return rate on gold reserves is lower than on US Department of the Treasury bonds, the official said.
