Notwithstanding the deeply dark provenance of much of Portugal’s gold reserves, the fact is that they are suddenly a great deal more valuable.
The rise in the price of gold has taken the value of the Bank of Portugal’s stock of gold to more than €46 billion.
According to the Monetary Policy Implementation Report for 2024, the gold held by the Bank (BdP) was valued at €31 billion at the end of 2024 – representing a 34% increase from 2023.
BdP holds 382.7 tonnes of gold – an amount that has been maintained for several years – thus reserves have appreciated even more this year.
Gold has always been considered a safe haven asset for investors, particularly in times of uncertainty. This week it hit an ‘all time high’, slightly surpassing $4,000 per ounce.
Using this value as a benchmark, the Portuguese central bank’s reserves are already worth around €46.3 billion, claims Lusa.
Massive purchases by central banks, the weakness of the dollar and the geopolitical context are driving the rise in gold, which has appreciated by almost 50% this year, says the state news agency.
A case has been made for Portugal to ‘return’ its gold from the Jewish families from which it was originally stolen (by the Nazis, in WWII) – but to this day nothing has happened.
Source material: LUSA/ Wall Street Journal, 2014
