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🇰🇷 South Korea /Economy & Trade

Uneasy about relying on the U.S. and Canada, Netherlands moves 86 tonnes of gold to Britain

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

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

At a glance

News Named sources Outcome reported
  • The Dutch central bank moved 86 tonnes of gold from the United States and Canada to London between March and August, citing rising geopolitical uncertainty.
  • The bank said gold stored in London can be traded more easily, allowing it to use the reserves faster during a crisis.
  • The move reduced the shares held in New York and Ottawa and increased London’s share, reflecting broader scrutiny of overseas gold storage.

The Netherlands has moved 86 tonnes of its gold reserves from the United States and Canada to Britain as geopolitical uncertainty grows. The Dutch central bank said the transfer, carried out between March and August, would make the gold easier to trade in a crisis.

This enables the Dutch central bank to use its gold as quickly as possible in a crisis.

· Dutch central bankThe bank explained why it increased the share of reserves stored in London.

The bank holds 612.4 tonnes of gold, valued at 72.2 billion euros at the end of last year. Before the move, 31.3% of the reserves were stored in New York and 19.7% in Ottawa. Those shares have each fallen to 18.5%, while London’s share has risen to 32.1%. The Netherlands stores 30.8% of the reserves domestically.

The central bank said it used both physical transport and sales transactions, spreading the risks associated with moving a large amount of gold directly. Governor Olaf Sleijpen said the change improved the usability of the reserves, even though the bank assumes it will never need to use them. He described gold as a final reserve asset and an anchor of confidence during extreme financial or economic crises.

Through this measure, we have improved the usability of our gold reserves.

· Olaf SleijpenThe Dutch central bank governor described the purpose of the transfer.

The Dutch move follows wider debate among central banks about where to keep gold held abroad. France said in April that it had sold the remaining 129 tonnes stored in New York and replaced it with the same amount in Paris. The transaction involved replacing older bars with new ones meeting modern international standards, though some observers also linked it to uncertainty under the Trump administration.

We assume that we will never need to use the gold, but strengthening our resilience and preparedness is nevertheless necessary.

· Olaf SleijpenSleijpen explained why the bank still wanted to improve its reserve arrangements.

Analyst John Plassard called the Dutch action a fairly isolated measure for now, but warned that broader moves could damage confidence in the United States. Germany, meanwhile, rejected calls earlier this year to move its gold from New York, saying the Federal Reserve Bank of New York would remain an important storage location.

The current political situation in the United States could pressure some central banks to prefer other storage locations.

· Laurent SchwartzThe Paris-based gold-market executive discussed the effect of U.S. political uncertainty on reserve decisions.
About this summary

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. 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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