Dutch Central Bank Moves Gold Reserves to London for Crisis Preparedness

The Dutch central bank, DNB, has moved around 86 tonnes of gold from New York and Ottawa to London. The goal is to improve crisis preparedness by placing more of its existing gold reserves in the world's most liquid gold market.

This move comes after several years of strong central bank gold buying. Between 2022 and 2024, central banks added over 1,000 tonnes per year, with purchases slowing down slightly to around 863 tonnes in 2025 but remaining at a historically high level.

London is the largest over-the-counter market for physical gold, and the Bank of England's vaults hold approximately 400,000 bars, or roughly 5,000 tonnes. The bank is one of the world's largest gold custodians, storing gold on behalf of foreign central banks, international organisations, and the UK government.

The DNB used a combination of selling around 59 tonnes in New York and buying an equivalent amount in London, as well as physically moving more than 27 tonnes from North America to the Netherlands. This approach allowed them to avoid transporting the full 86 tonnes across the Atlantic.