Dutch Central Bank Shifts $12bn Gold Reserves to London Amid Geopolitical Uncertainty

The Dutch Central Bank has shifted $12bn worth of gold reserves from New York and Ottawa to London, citing concerns about increasing global geopolitical unrest.

Between March and August, the bank transferred approximately 86 tons of gold, more than a quarter of its bullion held in the US and Canada, to the UK capital. This move has increased London's share of Dutch gold reserves to nearly a third, making it the largest single holding for the country.

London hosts the world's most liquid gold market, where hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of metal changes hands every week. Central banks use the Bank of England as a custodian for their metal, allowing them to quickly sell or buy in large quantities.