Dutch Central Bank Pulls Gold Bars Out of New York for ‘Crisis Preparedness’ Amid Ongoing Geopolitical Risk

Dutch Central Bank Pulls Gold Bars Out of New York for ‘Crisis Preparedness’ Amid Ongoing Geopolitical Risk

Sarah Holzmann

Thu, September 3, 2026 at 4:34 PM GMT+3 4 min read

• GC=F -1.38%

De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), the Dutch central bank, announced on September 2 that it had relocated approximately 86 metric tons of gold (GCZ26) from its vaults in New York and Ottawa to London between March and August of this year.

The bank explicitly cited "increasing geopolitical unrest" and the need to strengthen "crisis preparedness" as the driving rationale for the transfer.

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"With this relocation, we have improved the tradability of our gold reserves," said DNB Governor Olaf Sleijpen in a statement. "We expect that we will never need to use them, but we do need to strengthen our resilience and preparedness."

Why the Dutch Central Bank Chose London

DNB emphasized that gold stored at the Bank of England meets modern international trade standards and is regarded as the world's most easily tradable gold, giving it superior liquidity and deployability in a crisis compared to reserves held in New York or Ottawa.

This rationale aligns with London's status as the world's largest over-the-counter gold trading hub, where hundreds of billions of dollars in bullion change hands weekly.

Julius Baer analyst Carsten Menke described the DNB's explanation as "credible," and added, "More broadly, the move reflects a growing focus among central banks on resilience, operational readiness and diversification of reserve holdings - the trend is consistent with a world in which geopolitical risks are perceived to be higher than they were a few ‌years ago."

The Math Behind the Bullion Transfer

The mechanics of the transfer were carefully designed to minimize risk and cost. Roughly 59 metric tons were handled through market transactions — selling gold in New York and purchasing equivalent bullion in London that meets Bank of England standards.

An additional 27 metric tons were physically transported from the United States and Canada to DNB's heavily guarded vault on a military base near Zeist in the Netherlands, and a similar quantity of internationally compliant gold was then moved from Zeist to London, avoiding the need to remelt bars.

The geographic redistribution of Dutch gold reserves is significant. Prior to the transfer, New York held 31.3% and Ottawa held 19.7% of DNB's total gold stock, while London held just 18.1%. After the move, both New York and Ottawa each hold 18.5%, while London's share surged to 32.1%, making it the single largest foreign storage location for Dutch gold.

The Netherlands retains 30.8% domestically at Zeist, and total reserves remain unchanged at 612.4 metric tons, valued at approximately $83.6 billion at the end of 2025.

Europe Reconsiders Its Sovereign Gold Reserves

The Dutch move follows France's decision to sell 129 tons of older gold bars held in New York and replace them with internationally compliant bullion stored in Paris between July 2025 and January 2026.

Together, these actions signal a growing European reconsideration of where sovereign gold reserves should be held, fueled by deteriorating transatlantic relations under the Trump administration, threats regarding Greenland, escalating U.S.-Canada tariff disputes, and broader concerns about the reliability of U.S.-based financial infrastructure.

DNB itself has previously warned about Dutch over-reliance on the U.S. financial system. Notably, Germany's Bundesbank has so far resisted similar pressure to withdraw its substantial gold holdings from New York, maintaining confidence in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York as a storage site.

Market analysts warn that while the Dutch transfer is currently a relatively isolated event, a broader wave of central bank withdrawals from the U.S. could damage confidence in the country's role as the world's primary custodian of sovereign gold reserves.

For the latest look at what's driving gold prices from our Senior Market Strategist John Rowland, CMT, check out this clip from "Market on Close":

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On the date of publication, Sarah Holzmann did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on Barchart.com