86 Tons: The Netherlands Transfers Gold Reserves from US and Canada to London

The Dutch Central Bank (DNB) announced on Wednesday that it has completed the transfer of 86 tons of its gold reserves, previously held in the United States and Canada, to new destinations, primarily London, against the backdrop of what was defined as "rising geopolitical instability." According to the bank's statement, the move is intended to improve the deployment capability and liquidity of gold assets in times of emergency.

The gold market in London is considered the deepest and most liquid in the world, allowing for faster trading or lending to financial institutions compared to the previous storage sites in New York and Ottawa.

"We assume that we will never need the gold, but we are obligated to strengthen our resilience and readiness," said the bank's president, Klaas Knot.

The total gold reserves of the Netherlands at the end of 2025 stood at 612.4 tons, with an estimated value of approximately 72.2 billion euros. Before the change, the bank held 31.3% of the gold in New York and 19.7% in Ottawa. After the transfer, this share was reduced to 18.5% for each country, while the share held in London jumped from 18.1% to 32.1%. Another approximately 30.8% remained in storage within the Netherlands itself.

The operation, which took place between March and August, was carried out through a combination of purchase and sale transactions alongside the physical transport of more than 27 tons of gold from North America to the town of Zeist in the Netherlands, and from there to London. This strategy was intended to prevent the need for melting gold bars and to diversify the risks involved in the physical transport of such large quantities.