British Gold Reserve Tapped: The British government...
British Gold Reserve Tapped: The British government used up 5% of Britain’s gold and foreign currency reserves last month in its attempt to prevent the pound’s weakness from turning into a full-scale sterling crisis. Figures released by the British Treasury showed that the underlying level of the reserves fell by $2.236 billion in June--the biggest drop ever and an indication of the scale of the Bank of England’s intervention in the foreign exchanges. With inflation already running at above 8%, the government was forced to act, since a lower pound leads to more expensive imports and eventually higher prices.
More to Read
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.