The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is set to raise $12 billion (£6 billion) by selling off a chunk of its large gold reserves and is taking an axe to 15 per cent of its workforce as it attempts to plug a yawning gap in its finances.

The IMF will have to win 85 per cent approval from its 185 members to sell 403.3 tonnes, or 12 per cent, of its reserves, including winning backing from the US which controls nearly 17 per cent of voting rights.

It is unlikely the sale will go through prior to the US Presidential race as Congress needs to vote on the deal. Since 1999, US Congress has twice voted down IMF's plans to sell some of its gold reserves.

Gold was trading up 2 per cent on yesterday's price, at $923.38. The IMF said the gold sale will be spread over a long period to avoid sudden movements in the market.

The IMF's plan to divest some of its reserves as gold teeters around the record $1,000 an ounce reached in March is in stark contrast to the decision by Prime Minister Gordon Brown who, as Chancellor, sold off nearly half of Britain's gold between 1999 and 2002 as the price of the precious metal was touching 20-year lows.

As well as selling gold, the IMF will cut 15 per cent of its 2,600 workforce to help shore up a $400 million funding shortfall forecast by 2010 as the Washington-based organisation changes its remit from providing loans to developing countries to monitoring countries' economic stability.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn, managing director at the IMF, said the plan was a "landmark agreement that would put the institution on solid financial footing".

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