Central Banks Flee Dollar as Gold Becomes Safest Haven

Central banks are reevaluating their gold reserves and moving them out of New York to London, where they can be accessed more quickly in a crisis. The Dutch National Bank has shifted over a quarter of its gold from New York and Ottawa to London between March and August 2026, mostly by selling bars in New York and buying gold in London.

The move is part of a broader trend, with France emptying its remaining gold out of New York earlier this year. Germany still keeps more than a third of its gold in the New York Federal Reserve, but economists and politicians have demanded that it be brought home.

Emanuel Mönch, a former head of research at the Bundesbank, called leaving so much gold in the US 'risky'. Central banks are backing away from the dollar and putting more of their reserves into gold. By the end of 2025, their gold was worth more than the U.S. government bonds they held.

This shift is due to a growing lack of trust in the dollar, which has been exacerbated by Washington's decision to block Russia from using its central-bank reserves held abroad. Central banks have learned that dollars and government bonds held abroad are only theirs as long as the governments controlling the financial system let them use them.

Gold is seen as a safer alternative, as it is not subject to the same risks as paper currencies and government debt. The renewed demand for gold by central banks confirms the materialist basis of Marx's argument that gold is the money commodity and the dollar is being measured against it.