It is confusing that sometimes the figures are reported in ounces, other times in metric tonnes. For purposes of conversion, a tonne is 32,150 troy ounces. European central bank sold 200 tonnes in the first half of 1997. Unfortunately that doesn't seem to be the prevailing animus with the people currently in charge of their central bank. This impresses me as an observation only an amateur might make, an insight derived from looking into a rear-view mirror.
Central bankers have a psychology similar to that of the public buying mutual funds.
An intelligent investor buys or sells based on value, not on track record. A good track record is critical when you're assessing a person, but for an investment it's usually just an indication something is overpriced. At its heart, my argument is that gold will necessarily be reinstituted as money, simply because gold is the only financial asset that's not simultaneously someone else's liability. The central banks increasingly just own each other's paper. At some point, as most currencies look more and more like the Thai baht or Korean won, they'll be forced to return to gold redeemability, at much higher prices.