Ahmed Kamel – Egypt Daily News
The Netherlands has relocated 86 tonnes of its gold reserves from the United States and Canada to London, citing growing geopolitical uncertainty.
The transfer comes amid concerns that holding gold in the United States could expose the reserves to political or operational risks under President Donald Trump. Moving the assets to the United Kingdom will help diversify the Netherlands’ holdings and allow the Dutch central bank to access and sell the gold more quickly in the event of a crisis.
Gold stored in London can be traded more easily than reserves held in New York or Ottawa, according to De Nederlandsche Bank, or DNB. The relocation is also intended to create a more balanced distribution of the country’s reserves and strengthen the bank’s ability to respond during emergencies.
“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.
Trump’s unpredictable policies have previously been cited as a reason for moving Dutch gold out of the United States. In January, Johan de Ruiter, director of the Dutch auction house Goudwisselkantoor, warned that the United States could potentially delay the return of the reserves, impose additional tariffs, or refuse to repatriate them.
“We must remove our gold from the US as soon as possible. It is simply no longer safe there,” de Ruiter told the Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad.
The Netherlands held 612.4 tonnes of gold worth approximately €72.2 billion at the end of 2025, according to DNB.
Before the transfer, 31.3% of the country’s gold was stored in New York and 19.7% in Ottawa. Following the relocation, the share held in each country fell to 18.5%.
London now holds 32.1% of the Netherlands’ gold reserves, up from 18.1%, making it the largest storage location. A further 30.8% remains in the Netherlands.
DNB said the operation involved a combination of buying and selling gold and physically transporting bullion. More than 27 tonnes were moved from the United States and Canada to Zeist in the Netherlands, while an equivalent amount was transferred from Zeist to London. This arrangement avoided the need to melt down the 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 bank said.
