Europe gold reserves jump €56.8 billion

Gold and gold receivables held by euro zone central banks rose by €56.8 billion to €420 billion after a quarterly revaluation, the European Central Bank said on Wednesday.

Net foreign exchange reserves in the Eurosystem of central banks rose by €13.2 billion to €191.1 billion after the revaluation, the ECB said in a weekly consolidated financial statement. The combined balance sheet of the ECB and the 17 national euro zone central banks grew by €80.8 billion to €2.289 trillion, the statement showed. The euro fell against the dollar on Wednesday as worries about a Greek default persist and one day after the first European bank had to be bailed out.

Reuters reports the euro fell on Wednesday weighed by a lack of concrete details to deal with the region’s debt crisis and worries over a Greek default even after a pledge by policymakers to strengthen European banks.

Click here for the ECB press release on gold reserves