The Dutch Central Bank (DNB) announced it will transfer approximately 86 tons of gold from New York and Ottawa to London between March and August, citing increased geopolitical turmoil and describing the move as a crisis preparation to enhance the liquidity of reserves. At the time of the gold price, this batch is valued at about $12.1 billion.

President Olaf Sleijpen stated that the gold bars stored at the Bank of England meet international trading standards and are considered the most easily tradable gold, which can be accessed more quickly in a crisis compared to stocks in New York and Ottawa; he also mentioned that while it is assumed they may never be needed, resilience must still be strengthened. The total gold reserves in the Netherlands amount to 612.4 tons, with a projected value of about €72.2 billion by the end of 2025. After the transfer, the proportion stored in London will increase from 18.1% to 32.1%, making it the largest storage location; approximately 30.8% will remain in the Netherlands; while stocks in New York and Ottawa will each decrease to 18.5%, down from 31.3% and 19.7%, respectively.

The operation is divided into two parts: about 59 tons will be sold in New York and equivalent high-quality gold bars will be bought back in London to avoid melting; another over 27 tons of physical gold will first be transported to the Zeist military base vault and then sent to London in equal amounts. The bank stated that conducting buy and sell transactions in parallel with physical gold is to diversify the risks of large-scale transportation. The specific method of transatlantic transport has not been disclosed. This transfer accounts for more than a quarter of its original North American stock of about 313 tons.

DNB did not specify the exact conflicts, but the background includes the impact of the US-Iran conflict on trade and the US-Canada tariff dispute. The London bullion market remains the global hub for physical gold trading. If more central banks follow suit, the market will reassess the premium of the New York Federal Reserve's gold vault as a neutral custodian.

The amount of gold itself has not increased or decreased; what has changed is the storage location and the speed of liquidity. Historically, the New York vault has been seen as a safe node, but this time "tradability" has replaced "custodial inertia."

In market mechanisms, the buyer is the European Central Bank, which needs to be able to sell immediately in a crisis, while the seller is the North American custodial capacity. The driving force is the repricing of custodial locations due to geopolitical risks, representing an event-driven reserve reallocation. Hedging between physical and paper gold is completed by selling in New York and buying in London, with the impact on gold prices deliberately smoothed out. Beneficiaries are the London vault and the premium for deliverable brands, while the pressure is on New York and Ottawa as the main storage locations for European official gold.

Source: Public Information