Overview
- De Nederlandsche Bank disclosed Wednesday that it completed a months-long reallocation between March and August that moved about 86 metric tonnes of gold out of vaults in New York and Ottawa to storage with the Bank of England in London.
- The operation combined market trades and limited shipments: roughly 59 tonnes were sold in New York and repurchased in London, while about 27 tonnes were physically routed via DNB’s Zeist cash centre before onward transfer to London.
- The change raised London’s share of Dutch holdings to 32.1%, left New York and Ottawa at 18.5% each, and kept total Dutch reserves at 612.4 tonnes valued at €72.2 billion at end-2025.
- DNB framed the move as crisis preparedness, saying London-held gold meets modern trade standards and is easier to deploy, while a smaller set of commentators linked the choice to concerns about holding bullion in the United States under the current political climate.
- The step fits a growing pattern of central banks rebalancing custody to prioritise liquidity and operational standards in London, a shift that market watchers say could modestly affect gold liquidity and prompt other reserve managers to reassess storage choices.