Patient French made 50% more than Gordon Brown on gold sales (and only sold half as much)

The Times describes Mr Brown's reverse Midas touch as "the definition of calling the bottom of the market".

David Robertson writes:

• Britain lost over £6bn: "Gordon Brown’s decision to sell the bulk of the Bank of England’s gold at historically low prices has cost the country $10 billion (£6,260 million)."
• Patient France have made more profit by waiting and selling less gold: "It is made even more galling by France’s decision to hold on to its reserves and start selling only in the past couple of years. This year France sold 73.4 tonnes raising $2.5 billion. That was on top of 113.5 tonnes sold last year at an average price of $872, raising $3.5 billion. The French have made 50 per cent more than Mr Brown by selling half as much gold."
• Britain now sits below Venezuela in the gold reserves league table: "Mr Brown’s firesale means that the UK now ranks 16th in the world for gold reserves, according to the World Gold Council. It is between Venezuela at 15th and Lebanon at 17th."
• The gold sales were probably part of Labour's scheming to join the eurozone: "At the time of Mr Brown’s gold sale in 1999 there was speculation it was part of a plan to ensure that the UK was prepared for entry into the European Union’s single currency."
• The sales were against good practice by central banks: "Other central banks were also unhappy with the decision to sell as they had agreed to limit their collective sales to 500 tonnes a year."

Is there a more powerful example of Brown's incompetence?

Tim Montgomerie