I'm still convinced that the best way for the IMF to get $250bn...

I'm still convinced that the best way for the IMF to get $250bn of SDR's is for them to revalue their existing gold upwards, rather than sell it off.

The IMF does not have taxing rights, nor does it have the full faith and credit of any particular country behind it. In order for people to accept SDR's, they must be exchangable for something of value. That something must be gold, based on the IMF's history.

From the IMF website:-

Why was the SDR created and what is it used for today?

The Special Drawing Right (SDR) was created by the IMF in 1969 to support the Bretton Woods fixed exchange rate system. A country participating in this system needed official reserves—government or central bank holdings of gold and widely accepted foreign currencies—that could be used to purchase the domestic currency in world foreign exchange markets, as required to maintain its exchange rate. But the international supply of two key reserve assets— gold and the U.S. dollar—proved inadequate for supporting the expansion of world trade and financial development that was taking place. Therefore, the international community decided to create a new international reserve asset under the auspices of the IMF....

General allocations of SDRs have to be based on a long-term global need to supplement existing reserve assets. General allocations are considered every five years, although decisions to allocate SDRs have been made only twice. The first allocation was for a total amount of SDR 9.3 billion, distributed in 1970-72. The second allocation was distributed in 1979-81 and brought the cumulative total of SDR allocations to SDR 21.4 billion.

One SDR is worth about $US1.50, so SDR21.4bn = $US32bn. So, how would selling off IMF gold help, when they want to expand the SDR program?

The IMF's gold holdings

The IMF holds 103.4 million ounces (3,217 metric tons) of gold at designated depositories. The IMF's total gold holdings are valued on its balance sheet at SDR 5.9 billion (about $9.3 billion) on the basis of historical cost. As of August 31, 2008, the IMF's holdings amounted to $86.2 billion (at then current market prices).

The IMF now needs to increase SDR's from $21bn to $250bn. Would revaluing its gold to market help? Of course! It wouldn't be the entire solution, but it would reduce the additional contributions member states would need to make into the IMF coffers.

http://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/facts/sdr.htm