Dutch Central Bank Relocates 86 Tonnes of Gold

The U.S. Bullion Depository, also known as Fort Knox, in Kentucky in 2009. Michael Vadon /CC BY-SA 2.0

The Netherlands’ central bank has shifted roughly 86 tonnes of gold held in the United States and Canada to London, citing risks posed by geopolitical unrest.

The gold was transferred between March and August this year, taken from the approximately 313 tonnes stored in the United States and Canada, De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), the Dutch central bank, said in a statement on Wednesday.

The bank said it was strengthening its crisis preparedness, which included improving the tradability and liquidity of the country’s gold reserves.

“A more balanced distribution of these reserves between North America, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands helps to spread risks,” the bank said.

Gold held in the Bank of England is considered the most easily tradable gold in the world, with London being a major trading center for the bullion. As such, gold stored in London will be more readily accessible in a crisis situation, DNB said.

In contrast, gold held in Ottawa and New York cannot be utilised as quickly in such a situation, the bank said.

In the United States, the Dutch gold reserves are kept in the vaults of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Before the withdrawal, New York held 31.3 percent of DNB’s gold reserves, which has now declined to 18.5 percent. The share of gold reserves stored in London jumped from 18.1 to 32.1 percent. DNB holds 30.8 percent of its reserves within its own borders.

DNB said that holding a larger portion of gold reserves in London “strengthens the function of gold as an anchor of trust.” By the end of 2025, the Netherlands had a total of 612.4 tonnes of gold reserves.

The 86 tonnes of gold were not all physically transferred from North America. Instead, 59 tonnes in New York were sold, with a similar quantity bought in London. More than 27 tonnes from North America were physically transferred for storage in the Netherlands, and a similar quantity was shipped from the Netherlands to London.

In April, the French central bank said that around 129 tonnes of gold held in New York were sold off. A similar quantity of the bullion was then purchased in Europe.

Gold demand has continued to remain strong among central banks and investors. According to an Aug. 4 report from the World Gold Council (WGC), central banks purchased a net 102 tonnes of gold in the first six months of 2026.

Poland was the top buyer in the first half of the year, followed by Uzbekistan, China, and Kazakhstan. Turkey was the top seller.

Total year-to-date global gold ETF inflows amounted to $11 billion, led by funds from Asia, followed by Europe. North America saw net outflows during this period, according to the report.

Spot gold was trading at roughly $4,488 per oz. as of 1:20 p.m. ET on Thursday, slightly up from around $4,329 at the start of the year.