The IMF holds a relatively large amount of gold among its assets, not only for reasons of financial soundness, but also to meet unforeseen contingencies. The IMF holds 103.4 million ounces (3,217 metric tons) of gold, worth about $83 billion as of end-August 2009, making it the third-largest official holder of gold in the world.
The IMF's Executive Board recently approved limited sales of gold. Learn more about Gold and IMF.