Gold reserves

Austria owns around 280 tonnes of gold. These gold reserves serve as a safeguard in times of crisis and strengthen confidence in our monetary system. The OeNB manages these reserves with great care.

Gold reserves: a stable anchor

Gold has played a special role in the financial system for centuries. Central banks around the world continue to hold gold today, not as a means of everyday payment, but as a strategic reserve asset.

Gold is a key pillar of our reserve assets. It provides stability by reinforcing confidence in the euro. One of its key advantages is that it is internationally recognised and not tied to any single country or currency. Especially during periods of economic uncertainty, gold can help promote stability and strengthen confidence. It enables countries to remain resilient and maintain room for manoeuvre in challenging situations.

In short, gold remains a stable anchor in a changing global financial system.

What does this mean for you?

Although gold reserves are not something you may encounter directly, they still affect your life because they contribute to the stability and resilience of the economy. A country’s stability depends in part on how well it is prepared for times of crisis, and gold reserves form part of that preparedness.

Gold reserves help:

maintain confidence in Austria’s financial system
better absorb economic uncertainty
keep Austria stable even in challenging times

How much gold does Austria have and where is it stored?

Austria has around 280 tonnes of gold.

Of this total, around 139 tonnes are currently stored in Austria. Around 90 tonnes, that is 7,200 gold bars, are stored in the OeNB's vaults. The remainder of Austria’s domestically held gold is stored in the vaults of Münze Österreich AG. The approximately 141 tonnes stored abroad are held in London (around 84 tonnes), Paris (around 50 tonnes) and Switzerland (around 7 tonnes).

This storage strategy reduces concentration risk by avoiding reliance on a single location while also ensuring that gold can be mobilised quickly, if needed, through major international trading centres in London, Paris and Switzerland.

Austria’s gold reserves over the years

Following the Anschluss in 1938, which made Austria part of the Third Reich, the Deutsche Reichsbank confiscated 78.2 tonnes of Austrian gold. After the Second World War, 50.1 tonnes were returned. Austria’s gold reserves grew significantly during the 1950s and 1960s as a result of the country’s economic recovery and expansion. Holdings reached their peak in the 1980s at around 657 tonnes.

Part of the gold was stored abroad because, in times of crisis, gold can be used most effectively through international trading centres. During the Cold War, geopolitical considerations also played a role.

Until the early 1970s, gold reserves were important for maintaining a currency’s worth under the system of gold parity. Following the collapse of the Bretton Woods system in 1973, gold largely lost this function. The introduction of the euro in 1999 further reduced gold's role in exchange rate stabilisation.

During the 1990s, the OeNB reduced its gold holdings. This was due in part to the transfer of approximately 22 tonnes to the European Central Bank and to additional gold sales. Since 2007, the OeNB has maintained a gold stock of 280 tonnes.

The USA hold the world’s largest national gold reserves, with around 8,133 tonnes, followed by Germany (around 3,350 tonnes) and Italy (around 2,452 tonnes). The Eurosystem as a whole currently holds approximately 10,808 tonnes of gold.

Authenticity testing

To safeguard against counterfeiting, gold is subjected to rigorous testing with modern inspection methods. Not only the surface of a bar is examined, but also its interior.

The tests include precise weight measurements, ultrasound scanning and X-ray fluorescence analysis to determine the composition of the bar. Together, these methods can detect even the smallest irregularities.

To ensure that their gold reserves remain highly marketable, many central banks hold gold bars that meet the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) Good Delivery standard. This standard defines the requirements a gold bar must fulfil in order to be accepted on international markets. A Good Delivery bar has a minimum gold content of 995 parts per 1,000 and typically weighs around 12.5 kilograms. Its dimensions are also standardised, at approximately 25 × 7 × 3.5 centimetres.

Gold trading and pricing

London, Zurich and New York remain the world’s leading centres for gold trading. Gold prices are generally quoted in US dollars per troy ounce (1 troy ounce = 31.1034768 grams).

The price of gold is determined by supply and demand. Key factors include demand from the jewellery industry, industrial demand, particularly from the electronics sector, and investment demand for gold bars and coins. Purchases and sales by central banks also influence the gold price. Gold prices are fixed twice daily, at 10:30 and 15:00 London time, on the London bullion market, the world’s most important over-the-counter market for gold and silver trading.

FAQ

Gold reserves are primarily held as a precaution. Their purpose is not to generate short-term profits but to support long-term stability and resilience.

International storage locations ensure rapid access, even during periods of market stress. Like Austria’s domestically held reserves, gold abroad is kept safe by applying the highest security standards.

Gold prices are influenced by supply and demand, investor sentiment and economic developments around the world.

No. The OeNB does not sell gold to private individuals. If you wish to buy gold, you can contact our subsidiary Münze Österreich AG, for example.

Gold plays a unique role as a stable and internationally recognised reserve asset. Silver does not have the same significance within the international financial system.

Gold coins can be bought and exchanged through specialised dealers, banks or our subsidiary Münze Österreich AG.

According to end-2025 estimates by the World Gold Council, approximately 219,891 tonnes of gold have been mined over the course of human history, roughly two-thirds since 1950. If all that gold were brought together, it would form a cube measuring roughly 22 metres on each side.

As with most valuable assets, attempts have repeatedly been made to counterfeit gold bars. The basic method has hardly changed over time: the core of a bar is replaced with a less valuable metal, such as iron, while only the outer layer consists of gold. For this reason, visual inspection alone is not sufficient to verify the authenticity.

Highly precise weighing equipment is used to determine a bar’s weight, while ultrasonic technology can detect the composition of its core. X-ray fluorescence analysis is used to measure the purity of the gold. One useful fact to remember: gold is not magnetic.