"In these times of financial instability, gold's universal role as protector of wealth has come to the fore, not least as a crucial part of reserve asset portfolios. The fact that these sales will effectively rescue the IMF from a difficult situation regarding its own finances is proof of gold's unique investment characteristics, long-recognised by central bankers and institutional and retail investors alike."

Given the IMF's status as "a lender of last resort," the World Gold Council believes it is imperative that the organisation continues to hold large gold reserves and acknowledges the IMF's public declarations that "the IMF should continue to hold a relatively large amount of gold among its assets, not only for prudential reasons, but also to meet unforeseen contingencies."