Since the arrival of Donald Trump, one in five central banks worldwide has relocated their gold bars in search of greater security, according to the World Gold Council. The latest to do so has been the central bank of the Netherlands, which has drastically reduced its gold reserves held in New York to move them to London.
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The transfer took place between March and August, according to reports this week. About 59 tons were sold in the New York metropolis and repurchased, in the same amount, in the British capital. More than 27 tons were physically transferred from the U.S. and Canada. The share held in New York has dropped from 31.3% to 18.5% of the total, while London’s has risen from 18.1% to 32.1%. Dutch reserves remain identical, with 612.4 tons. What changes is the geographic distribution.
The institute justified its decision due to “growing geopolitical instability,” better risk distribution, and the ability to have immediate liquidity in case of crisis. “We hope not to have to sell bars, but we must be prepared to do so,” argued the Dutch bank. The London market guarantees the most immediate liquidity due to its market.
The Manhattan Federal Reserve is the place that stores the most gold bars on the planet (estimated to be more than 500,000), in a vault 25 meters underground. The entity is responsible for safeguarding this metal, but it does not own it.
After World War II, several countries moved their reserves to the U.S. since until 1971 the dollar was convertible into gold by the U.S. central bank under the fixed exchange rate system. Additionally, storing the metal across the Atlantic was a protection against a possible war with the Soviet Union. Since then, the amount of gold on U.S. soil has been reduced by half.
“We hope not to have to sell bars, but we are prepared,” say the Dutch
The relocation by the Netherlands is not an isolated gesture. According to this year’s latest survey by the World Gold Council, 9% of central banks declared having repatriated gold and 10% having diversified storage locations abroad in the last 12 months, compared to 5% and 2%, respectively, in the previous year’s survey, when Donald Trump was not yet in the White House. In 2026, a similar percentage of central banks plan to continue doing the same.
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“Concerns around interest rates, inflation outlooks, and geopolitical uncertainty show that risk mitigation remains the key factor in reserve management. This year’s survey reveals an emerging trend: central banks are increasingly diversifying gold custody locations,” state the World Gold Council.
In 2025, the organization Tax Payers Association of Europe (TAE) already promoted a campaign to repatriate European gold amid distrust of the erratic policies of the U.S. president. “We are quite concerned about Trump’s interference in the independence of the Federal Reserve,” said Michael Yager, president of TAE, at the time. “Our recommendation is to move it so that European central banks have unlimited oversight over it at all times.” It would be a move with unpredictable consequences. As John Plassard, analyst at Cité Gestion Private Bank, has pointed out, “if other central banks follow the same path as the Dutch, it could generate ‘a movement of distrust towards the U.S.’”
The Bundesbank, which holds the second largest gold reserves in the world, decided in 2013 to store half of its reserves in Germany, moving 674 tons of bars from Paris and New York to Frankfurt in an operation that cost 7 million euros. Currently, only one-third of the Bundesbank’s gold reserves remain in New York. “Ultimately, the U.S. would be the most harmed if it somehow questioned that legal status and, with it, risked market confidence,” explained its president, Joachim Nagel. Last summer, the Bank of France also moved its gold reserves from U.S. vaults to England, citing technical reasons.
Spain’s gold reserves (about 280 tons) are partly held domestically and partly stored at the Bank for International Settlements in Basel, at the U.S. Fed, and at the Bank of England, in line with central banks in its environment, according to the Bank of Spain.
According to the ECB, in 2025 gold surpassed U.S. bonds as the largest asset of central banks worldwide. In the last year, the price of the yellow metal has risen by 25%.
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