Germany's Gold Cannot be Touched - Economy Minister

Germany Economy Minister Philipp Roesler said on Monday the country's gold reserves with the central bank cannot be touched, adding his voice to opposition to an idea reportedly discussed at the G20 summit of using reserves to boost euro zone bailout funds.

German gold reserves must remain untouchable, Roesler, who is head of the Free Democrats, a junior partner in Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition, told ARD television.

The Bundesbank (German central bank) and a spokesman for Merkel already said over the weekend that they too ruled out the idea reported discussed at the summit of Group of 20 leading economies last week.

German media said that the Cannes summit discussed using central bank reserves, including foreign currency and gold, to increase contributions to the European Financial Stability Facility by more than 15 billion euros ($20 billion).

The reports said the European Central Bank would own the reserves which would be used to back a form of special drawing rights from the International Monetary Fund.