THE gold price dropped to below the $280,00 per ounce mark on Monday, its lowest point in eight months, following concern about the Bank of England’s decision to sell more than half of its gold reserves. In London, on Monday afternoon, the gold price was fixed at $278,00 compared with Friday’s fixing of $282,40 and this has had a negative impact on the price of gold shares as well as the value of the rand. The gold index on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange shed 53 points or 5,29%, dropping to 948 points. These declines are attributed solely to Britain’s announcement on Friday. Since the announcement that Britain will be disposing of about 125 tons of its gold reserves in the current book year and 415 tons total, the metal has already lost about $12 of its value.