With 14.3 tons of gold in 2011, Serbia was ranked 58th according to the reserves of this precious metal, thus improving by one notch its position in the rankings compiled by the World Gold Council in comparison to the last year, the Ilirika Gold investment fund released on Monday.

The National Bank of Serbia held 14.3 tons of gold in 2011, which accounted for 4.7 percent of total foreign-exchange (forex) reserves, the release reads.

In the third quarter of 2011, Serbia increased its gold reserves by 0.5 ton, whereas in the entire 2011, the country accumulated a total of 1.3 tons (worth RSD 6 billion). At the moment, 1 kg of gold is being sold for EUR 42,600, so Serbia's gold reserves are worth RSD 66.61 billion.

“The country possesses its own gold-bearing mining properties located mostly in eastern Serbia, which is its main advantage over most countries. According to preliminary indicators, the gold gained by exploitation of these resources would be worth around EUR 43 billion at the moment,” Director of the Ilirika Gold investment fund Damjan Mencej said.

As regards neighbouring countries, Macedonia holds 71st position with 6.8 tons of gold, Slovenia is 10 notches below with 3.2 tons, Bosnia-Herzegovina is ranked 89th, and Albania 91st.

Montenegro's gold reserves amount to 1.2 tons and are currently worth around EUR 50 million.