Calculating the amount of gold sold by world central banks in any given year is not an exact science. Nowhere is the information correlated and made publicly available. While some central banks are happily open about their activities, others are camera-shy. Nevertheless, Gold Fields Mining Services has a shot at it each half year. The results are only estimates, which GFMS admits are garnered through a combination of publicly available information and “field research”. As the release of information can come with a considerable lag, GFMS often updates its numbers through the course of the year.

That’s the first thing to consider.

The second thing to consider is that whatever GFMS comes up with in its estimates, the numbers will always be questioned by an organisation known as GATA. Read Full Story