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Written question asked by David Reed (Conservative) on Tuesday, 1 September 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 3 September 2026. It was answered by Torsten Bell (Labour) on Tuesday, 8 September 2026 on behalf of the Treasury.

Gold and Foreign Exchange Reserves

Question

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what stress tests his department applies to the Exchange Equalisation Account in respect of movements in (a) the US dollar, (b) the euro, (c) the yen, (d) interest rates and (e) the gold price.

Answer

The Government does not comment on market movements. The UK’s official reserves are held in the Exchange Equalisation Account (EEA) and managed to ensure that the policy objectives set out in the EEA Act 1979 can be met at all times.

HM Treasury and the Bank of England agree the EEA’s strategic asset allocation annually. In doing so, the liquidity, credit and market risk of the reserves is managed in line with the EEA’s investment principles: readiness, risk tolerance and, subject to these, optimising risk-adjusted return. Reserve composition decisions reflect these principles.

Information on the size and composition of the reserves is published monthly.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
26440
Session
2026-27
Grouped for answer
Yes
Subjects
Currencies Interest rates Prices Gold Dollar Gold and foreign exchange reserves
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk