Home›Commodities›Precious Metals›Netherlands moves 86 tonnes of gold from North America…

Netherlands moves 86 tonnes of gold from North America to London

The central bank said the transfer, from March to August, is meant to improve readiness for severe crises amid geopolitical and trade tensions.

Reported · Written up by our desk · Precious Metals

The Netherlands has relocated 86 tonnes of its gold holdings from storage in the US and Canada to London, where the central bank said the metal will be held by the Bank of England, the BBC Business reports. The move drew scrutiny after De Nederlandsche Bank linked it to the need for better preparedness for severe crises.

According to the report, the Netherlands cited increasing geopolitical unrest as a reason for shifting the metal closer to home, with 86 tonnes moving from a combined total of about 313 tonnes held in the US and Canada. De Nederlandsche Bank said the gold removed between March and August is now in Bank of England vaults.

The article adds that other European countries have made similar adjustments before, including France moving its gold reserves from the US to home storage earlier this year, and Germany’s Bundesbank transferring more than 216 tonnes from abroad over several years ending in 2016. Goldman Sachs analysts also noted that some European central banks shifted part of their gold to New York during the Cold War.

The World Gold Council’s market strategist Joseph Cavatoni said geopolitical and trade tensions factor into some decisions, but not as the single biggest driver. He said inflation, interest rates, and having gold available where it can be traded quickly also played a role, while Dutch central bank governor Olaf Sleijpen said the goal is resilience even if the reserves are never used.

Latest closeGold $4,431.70 ▲1.9%

More like this

Sources