'Crisis Preparedness': Dutch Move Billions In Gold Out Of US As Goldman Warns Of 'Geographic Concentration Risk'
The Netherlands' central bank transferred nearly 90 metric tons of gold bars from the United States and Canada to Britain amid growing concerns of "increasing geopolitical unrest," according to CNBC.
Roughly 25% of the gold reserves stored in New York and Ottawa were moved to London over the summer.
CNBC reports:
The bank holds 30.8% of its 612.4 tons of gold reserves at its cash center in Zeist, southeast of Amsterdam.
“Keeping a larger share of the gold reserves in London strengthens the function of gold as an anchor of trust,” the Dutch central bank said.
Preparations to move the gold were not disclosed until the process was completed because it was a matter of vital public interest, Finance Minister Eelco Heinen said in a statement.
The Dutch central bank is not the first major European institution to shift gold out of the U.S. in recent years.
In 2025, France's central bank pulled 129 metric tons of gold, then valued at $15 billion, from U.S. vaults and replaced it with newer, high-quality bullion held in Paris. At the time, Francois Villeroy de Galhau, then-governor of the Banque de France, claimed that the move was not politically motivated.
Meanwhile, advocacy groups in other major EU countries have voiced similar ambitions. Michael Jager, who heads the European Taxpayers Association, has pushed for Germany to bring its gold home, saying "Trump is unpredictable" and that the metal was "no longer safe" in the U.S., according to the New York Post.
The sums involved are substantial.
The Bundesbank holds roughly 3,350 metric tons of gold, of which 1,236 tons, roughly 37%, sit in New York.
However, Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel has dismissed the notion that the New York holdings are at risk.
The recent acceleration in geographical shifts of the location of central banks' precious metal hordes has not been lost on Goldman Sachs who recently noted that "The location of central bank’s gold holdings appears increasingly top of mind for reserve managers."
In an excellent note from Lina Thomas (available here in full for pro subs), she begins by noting that "the location of central bank’s gold holdings appears increasingly top of mind for reserve managers."
The Bank of England remains the most popular custodian (preferred by 57% of reserve managers in the World Gold Council survey), with the New York Fed also important, because gold there sits in the main settlement networks and can be used for swaps, leasing, and immediate market access.
The trade-off is political risk - freezing or restricted access, as with Venezuela’s gold at the BoE in 2018.
Thomas also notes that full repatriation is not the default solution: domestic vaults are costly for smaller banks and swap one set of risks for another.
Instead, many banks are spreading holdings across jurisdictions (BoE, NY Fed, BIS, Banque de France, and increasingly China) to keep liquidity while reducing single-jurisdiction exposure.
However, amid all this location-shifting, it remains clear that central banks are anxiously holding on to (if not adding to) their gold hordes and Goldman Sachs’ NowCast puts June central-bank buying at 57 tonnes (about 100 tonnes a month on a 3-month seasonally adjusted basis, versus a pre-2022 average of 17 tonnes), with China the largest identifiable buyer.
A 32-tonne inflow of monetary gold into London looks more like a custody transfer than sales, given a 98-tonne rise in foreign official holdings at the BoE.
With all that said, Goldman maintains its $4,900/oz end-2026 forecast, assuming roughly 50 tonnes a month of official buying in 2026 and 40 tonnes in 2027, driven by EM reserve diversification after the 2022 freeze of Russia’s assets.
Gold has already rebounded about 10% from its mid-July low back above $4,400 today (near the 200DMA) as investor demand (ETFs, COMEX positioning, and options) recovered once markets scaled back Fed-hike expectations.
Professional subscribers can read Goldman's full "Precious Comment: Gold and Central Banks: Storage Dilemma; Buying Trend Picks Up" note here at our new Marketdesk.ai portal
Tyler Durden Thu, 09/03/2026 - 14:20
Continue reading...
[ H/T ZeroHedge ]
The Netherlands' central bank transferred nearly 90 metric tons of gold bars from the United States and Canada to Britain amid growing concerns of "increasing geopolitical unrest," according to CNBC.
Roughly 25% of the gold reserves stored in New York and Ottawa were moved to London over the summer.
CNBC reports:
The bank holds 30.8% of its 612.4 tons of gold reserves at its cash center in Zeist, southeast of Amsterdam.
“Keeping a larger share of the gold reserves in London strengthens the function of gold as an anchor of trust,” the Dutch central bank said.
Preparations to move the gold were not disclosed until the process was completed because it was a matter of vital public interest, Finance Minister Eelco Heinen said in a statement.
The Dutch central bank is not the first major European institution to shift gold out of the U.S. in recent years.
In 2025, France's central bank pulled 129 metric tons of gold, then valued at $15 billion, from U.S. vaults and replaced it with newer, high-quality bullion held in Paris. At the time, Francois Villeroy de Galhau, then-governor of the Banque de France, claimed that the move was not politically motivated.
Meanwhile, advocacy groups in other major EU countries have voiced similar ambitions. Michael Jager, who heads the European Taxpayers Association, has pushed for Germany to bring its gold home, saying "Trump is unpredictable" and that the metal was "no longer safe" in the U.S., according to the New York Post.
The sums involved are substantial.
The Bundesbank holds roughly 3,350 metric tons of gold, of which 1,236 tons, roughly 37%, sit in New York.
However, Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel has dismissed the notion that the New York holdings are at risk.
The recent acceleration in geographical shifts of the location of central banks' precious metal hordes has not been lost on Goldman Sachs who recently noted that "The location of central bank’s gold holdings appears increasingly top of mind for reserve managers."
In an excellent note from Lina Thomas (available here in full for pro subs), she begins by noting that "the location of central bank’s gold holdings appears increasingly top of mind for reserve managers."
The Bank of England remains the most popular custodian (preferred by 57% of reserve managers in the World Gold Council survey), with the New York Fed also important, because gold there sits in the main settlement networks and can be used for swaps, leasing, and immediate market access.
The trade-off is political risk - freezing or restricted access, as with Venezuela’s gold at the BoE in 2018.
Thomas also notes that full repatriation is not the default solution: domestic vaults are costly for smaller banks and swap one set of risks for another.
Instead, many banks are spreading holdings across jurisdictions (BoE, NY Fed, BIS, Banque de France, and increasingly China) to keep liquidity while reducing single-jurisdiction exposure.
However, amid all this location-shifting, it remains clear that central banks are anxiously holding on to (if not adding to) their gold hordes and Goldman Sachs’ NowCast puts June central-bank buying at 57 tonnes (about 100 tonnes a month on a 3-month seasonally adjusted basis, versus a pre-2022 average of 17 tonnes), with China the largest identifiable buyer.
A 32-tonne inflow of monetary gold into London looks more like a custody transfer than sales, given a 98-tonne rise in foreign official holdings at the BoE.
With all that said, Goldman maintains its $4,900/oz end-2026 forecast, assuming roughly 50 tonnes a month of official buying in 2026 and 40 tonnes in 2027, driven by EM reserve diversification after the 2022 freeze of Russia’s assets.
Gold has already rebounded about 10% from its mid-July low back above $4,400 today (near the 200DMA) as investor demand (ETFs, COMEX positioning, and options) recovered once markets scaled back Fed-hike expectations.
Professional subscribers can read Goldman's full "Precious Comment: Gold and Central Banks: Storage Dilemma; Buying Trend Picks Up" note here at our new Marketdesk.ai portal
Tyler Durden Thu, 09/03/2026 - 14:20
Continue reading...
[ H/T ZeroHedge ]
