Dutch Central Bank Shifts Gold Reserves from US and Canada to London Amid Geopolitical Unrest

The Dutch central bank, De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), has moved 86 tonnes of its gold reserves from the United States and Canada to London. This decision was made in response to 'increasing geopolitical unrest', according to DNB president Olaf Sleijpen.

The move is intended to make it easier for the bank to deploy its gold reserves in a crisis situation, as the London market is considered deeper and more liquid than New York or Ottawa. The Netherlands' total gold holdings now amount to 612.4 tonnes, valued at 72.2 billion euros ($83.7 billion) at the end of 2025.

The transfer was carried out partially by buying and selling, and partly by physically transferring gold. More than 27 tonnes of physical gold were moved from the United States and Canada to Zeist, near Utrecht in the Netherlands, before being sent to London. This was done to prevent the melting down of gold bars.

Laurent Schwartz, president of the Paris-based National Gold Counter, stated that central banks have been moving their reserves around for about a decade. He also noted that the current political context in the United States might push certain central banks towards favouring other storage locations.