Acquisitions less disposals of valuables (P.53)

3.125 Definition:

Valuables are non-financial goods that are not used primarily for production or consumption, do not deteriorate (physically) over time under normal conditions and that are acquired and held primarily as stores of value.

3.126 Valuables encompass the following types of goods:

  1. precious stones and metals, such as diamonds, non-monetary gold, platinum, silver, etc.;
  2. antiques and other art objects, such as paintings, sculptures, etc.;
  3. other valuables, such as jewellery fashioned out of precious stones and metals and collectors items.

These types of goods are to be recorded as acquisition or disposal of valuables in case of:

  1. the acquisition or disposal of non-monetary gold, silver, etc. by (central) banks and other financial intermediaries;
  2. the acquisition or disposal of these goods by enterprises whose principal or secondary activity does not involve the production or trade in such types of goods; as a consequence, this acquisition or disposal is not included in the intermediate consumption or fixed capital formation of these enterprises;
  3. the acquisition or disposal of such goods by households; as a consequence, such acquisitions are not included in final consumption expenditure by households.

In the ESA, by convention also the following cases are recorded as acquisition or disposal of valuables:

  1. the acquisition or disposal of these goods by jewellers and art dealers (following the general definition of valuables the acquisition of these goods by jewellers and art dealers should be recorded as changes in inventories);
  2. the acquisition or disposal of these goods by museums (following the general definition of valuables the acquisition by a museum of these goods should be recorded as fixed capital formation).

This convention avoids frequent reclassification between the three main types of capital formation, i.e. between acquisition less disposal of valuables, fixed capital formation and changes in inventories, e.g. in the case of transactions of such goods between households and art dealers.

3.127 The production of valuables is valued at basic prices (see paragraph 3.67 on production of originals). All other acquisitions of valuables are valued at the purchasers' prices paid for them, including any agents' fees or commissions. They also include trade margins when bought from dealers. Disposals of valuables are valued at the prices received by sellers, after deducting any fees or commissions paid to agents or other intermediaries. Disregarding the production of valuables, in aggregate, acquisitions less disposals between resident sectors cancel out, leaving only agents or dealers margins.