Why are European countries moving their gold out of North America? Questions were bound to follow. Why were the Dutch doing this? Were they anticipating some major economic shock on the horizon?
It seems not, but the move was clearly in response to the unstable and uncertain state the world finds itself in, with trade and military wars prompting countries to take precautions and hold their gold closer to home.
Earlier this year, France announced it had removed its gold reserves from the US to home shores. Meanwhile, Germany's Bundesbank transferred more than 216 tonnes of the metal from storage locations abroad - 111 tonnes from New York and 105 tonnes from Paris - over a few years ending in 2016.
It is a strategy which has played out before in times of global instability. "Some European central banks moved part of their gold holdings to New York during the Cold War," said research analysts Lina Thomas and Daan Struyven of Goldman Sachs.
Joseph Cavatoni, senior market strategist at the World Gold Council, told the BBC while wars and trade tensions were "playing into some of these decisions", it didn't "top the list" of motivating factors.
Inflation, interest rates and just having gold in a place where it can be traded quickly also played a role. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgyn8q8gqxo
www.bundesbank.de
Bundesbank completes transfer of gold from New York
Last year, the Deutsche Bundesbank successfully completed the transfer of its gold stocks from New York. "The realisation of the gold storage plan is therefore well ahead of the original schedule," said Carl-Ludwig Thiele, Member of the Bundesbank’s Executive…
September 5, 2026 337 1
