European central banks have agreed on a new Central Bank Gold Agreement, now the fourth time an agreement has been reached, the World Gold Council said Monday.

"The agreement marks a continued commitment from some of the world's largest gold reserve holders to preserve the clarity and transparency that this agreement provides for gold market participants. It also firmly reasserts the importance of gold as an asset in global monetary reserves," the WGC said in a statement.

Citing a statement from the ECB, the WGC said the agreement "also removes the quantitative ceiling for annual gold sales and in doing so provides a clear signal that gold sales are essentially complete."

During the course of the last five years, major gold holders from European central banks have virtually stopped all gold sales -- selling less than 25 mt of gold against an agreed limit of 2,000 mt. The limited sales were primarily conducted for the purposes of minting gold coins, according to WGC data.

Natalie Dempster, the WGF's managing director, central banks & public policy, said: "This is extremely positive news for the global gold market, especially against a backdrop of ongoing gold purchases by emerging market countries. It underlines the commitment to gold that European central banks continue to have with regard to their monetary reserves. Of equal importance is the message it sends to gold-producing countries, who can be reassured that their economic development will not be undermined by uncoordinated sales of gold."