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🇫🇷 France /Economy & Trade

86 tonnes of gold moved to the United Kingdom as Dutch central bank withdraws part of its reserves from the US and Canada

From Le Figaro · () French

Translated from French and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire From a news agency Outcome reported
  • The Dutch central bank transferred 86 tonnes of gold from the United States and Canada to London, citing rising geopolitical instability.
  • The bank said gold can be traded more easily from London, allowing it to deploy its reserves faster during a crisis.
  • The move reshaped the distribution of the Netherlands' 612.4 tonnes of gold, with London's share rising to 32.1%.

The Dutch central bank has moved 86 tonnes of gold from the United States and Canada to London, saying the transfer will make the Netherlands' reserves easier to mobilize in a crisis.

Faced with growing geopolitical instability, DNB is strengthening its crisis preparedness. Improving the tradability of Dutch gold, and therefore the speed with which it can be mobilized in a crisis, is part of this.

— De Nederlandsche BankThe central bank explained why it moved part of its gold reserves to London.

The De Nederlandsche Bank said it acted because of "growing geopolitical instability" and wanted to strengthen its crisis preparedness. Gold held in London, it said, is more easily tradable than gold stored in New York or Ottawa.

"This allows DNB to deploy its reserves as quickly as possible in the event of a crisis," the bank said. Its president, Olaf Sleijpen, said the measure had improved the availability of the reserves, even though the bank assumed it would never need to use them.

This allows DNB to deploy its reserves as quickly as possible in the event of a crisis.

— De Nederlandsche BankThe bank described the operational benefit of holding more gold in London.

The Netherlands holds 612.4 tonnes of gold, valued at 72.2 billion euros at the end of 2025. Before the transfer, 31.3% of the reserves were held in New York and 19.7% in Ottawa. Those shares have now fallen to 18.5% each, while London's share has increased from 18.1% to 32.1%. The DNB keeps 30.8% of its gold in the Netherlands.

We assume that we will never have to use them, but it is necessary to strengthen our resilience and preparedness.

— Olaf SleijpenThe DNB president said the transfer was a precautionary measure.

The transfer combined buying and selling operations with the physical movement of bullion. More than 27 tonnes were transported from the United States and Canada to Zeist in the Netherlands, then the same amount was sent from Zeist to London. The arrangement avoided melting down the bars and spread the risks associated with moving a large quantity of gold.

By combining purchases, sales and physical transport, the risks associated with physically moving a large quantity of gold were spread.

— De Nederlandsche BankThe bank described how it managed the transfer.
About this summary

Originally published by Le Figaro in French. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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