By Jon Nones
St. LOUIS (ResourceInvestor.com) -- In the week ending 29 February 2008, the European Central Bank (ECB) reported that gold holdings among signatories within the Central Bank Gold Agreement decreased in the amount of EUR 39 million ($59.44 million), reflecting sales of about 1.9 tonnes. One bank sold reserves while one purchased gold coin.

This week’s sales follow just 2.1 tonnes of sales last week. In four weeks, Eurosystem banks have posted sales of just 7.4 tonnes, while in that same four weeks the price of gold went from $915 to $992.

European Central banks have reported sales of just 125.9 tonnes in the fourth agreement year, with a weekly average of just 5.4 tonnes.

Official gold sales, reported and unreported, through mid-February may be closer to 135 tonnes. With just seven months left in the fourth agreement year, it seems unlikely signatories will hit the 500-tonne quota.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported that European producer-price inflation accelerated to the highest in 17 years in January. Consumer-price inflation remained at 3.2 percent in February, the highest level since 1999.

By Arrangement with www.resourceinvestor.com