Netherlands moves 86 tonnes of gold from North America to London amid global uncertainty

Gold held in New York and Ottawa was transferred to London between March and August as part of crisis preparedness

The Dutch central bank has moved 86 metric tonnes of gold reserves from North America to London as part of what it described as efforts to strengthen its preparedness for a potential crisis amid global political unrest.

The De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) said on Wednesday that about 86 tonnes (94.8 tons) of gold were transferred to London between March and August from the roughly 313 tonnes (345 tons) it held in New York and Ottawa.

Before the transfer, 31.3 per cent of the Dutch gold reserves were held in New York and 19.7 per cent in Ottawa. Following the move, both cities now account for 18.5 per cent of the reserves, the bank said.

The transfer was carried out partially by buying and selling and partly by physically transferring gold, the Dutch national bank said. #EuropeNews https://t.co/i5FIqwBWfz

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The transfer was intended to “spread risks” and give DNB the quickest opportunity to deploy its gold through sales in a crisis situation, according to the bank.

Gold reserves held in London can be traded more easily than those stored in New York and Ottawa, it said.

The move also created a “more balanced distribution” of the reserves and would further strengthen the bank’s “crisis preparedness”.

“We assume that we will never need to deploy the gold, but it is nevertheless necessary to strengthen our resilience and preparedness,” DNB President Olaf Sleijpen said.

The move comes after concerns were raised about the safety of holding gold reserves in the United States, with Trump’s unpredictability previously cited as a reason for moving Dutch gold out of the country.

Johan de Ruiter told Dutch daily Algemeen Dagblad: “We must remove our gold from the US as soon as possible. It is simply no longer safe there.”

The DNB said the Netherlands’ total gold stock stood at 612.4 tonnes, valued at 72.2 billion euros at the end of 2025.

Following the transfer, London became the location holding the largest share of Dutch gold reserves, with its share rising from 18.1 per cent to 32.1 per cent. The Netherlands itself holds 30.8 per cent of the country’s gold reserves.

The transfer was carried out through a combination of buying and selling gold and physically moving it, the bank said.

More than 27 tonnes of physical gold were moved from the United States and Canada to Zeist. The same quantity was then moved from Zeist to London, avoiding the need to melt down gold bars.

“By combining buying and selling and physical transport, the risks associated with physically moving a large quantity of gold have been spread,” the DNB said.