Exchange-traded gold funds accumulate 461 tonnes

LONDON (Reuters) - Gold assets with exchange-traded
funds promoted by the World Gold Council total 429 tonnes worth
about $7.5 billion, equating to the 12th largest gold holding
among central banks, an industry official said on Monday.

"The security has succeeded in giving institutional and
retail investors an investment product that provides cost
effective access to the world's oldest investment," Simon
Village, director of Gold Bullion Securities Ltd., which has
promoted one such fund, said in a statement.

The figure excludes 31.75 tonnes of gold with iShares COMEX
Gold Trust, sponsored by Barclays Global Investors N.A.
The funds, the first of which appeared in gold about two
years ago, are backed by bullion held in vaults on behalf of
investors, allowing them a share of a bar of gold.

The investor can participate in the bullion market without
taking physical delivery of metal. The funds are traded on stock
exchanges including London, New York and South Africa.

StreetTRACKS gold fund, the world's biggest gold ETF
with a 75 percent share of the metal held by such funds,
collected about 80 tonnes in just over a month this year,
compared with 168 tonnes in the whole of 2005.

Investors were attracted towards the funds because of rising
prices, which spiked to a 25-year high of $574.60 an ounce this
month, analysts said. Gold was quoted at around $548 on Monday.

According to the World Gold Council, gold holdings with
central banks and the IMF were 30,988 tonnes by December 2005,
with the United States topping the list with 8,133.5 tonnes.
( Reuters South Africa )