Number: RS21204
Title: Gold: Uses of U.S. Official Holdings
Authors: Craig K. Elwell, Government and Finance Division 
Abstract: The U.S. Mint, the principal custodian of the government's gold holdings, engages in minor gold transactions associated with producing and selling commemorative coins. The Federal Reserve Bank does not own or have market transactions in gold, but it does facilitate the monetization of U.S. gold holdings, through its gold certificate account. The Exchange Stabilization Fund, an agency of the Treasury Department, no longer undertakes actions that use gold, and gold is not used as the basis of the Treasury's Special Drawing Rights. The continued willingness of the U.S. government to hold a large underutilized stock of gold is, perhaps, best understood as a hedge against times of severe economic crisis when paper assets could be useless.
Pages: 6
Date: Updated April 22, 2002