Netherlands Moves 86 Tonnes Of Gold From US And Canada To London Over Unrest

The Dutch central bank (DNB) said on Wednesday it had moved 86 tonnes of gold out of the United States and Canada to London, citing what it called increasing geopolitical unrest. The bank said gold held in London can be traded more easily than gold held in New York and Ottawa.

The transfer was carried out through a mix of buying and selling gold and physically transporting bars, the DNB said. More than 27 tonnes of physical gold was moved from the United States and Canada to Zeist in the Netherlands. The same quantity was then moved from Zeist to London, a step the bank said avoided the need to melt down gold bars.

“By combining buying and selling and physical transport, the risks associated with physically moving a large quantity of gold have

been spread,” the DNB said in a statement.

“This makes it the quickest for DNB to deploy in a crisis situation,” the bank added.

DNB President Olaf Sleijpen said the move was meant to strengthen the bank’s readiness, not to signal that the reserves would be used. “We assume that we will never need to deploy the gold, but it is nevertheless necessary to strengthen our resilience and preparedness,” Sleijpen said.

Before the transfer, the Netherlands held 31.3 per cent of its gold in New York and 19.7 per cent in Ottawa. Both locations now account for 18.5 per cent each. The share held in London rose from 18.1 per cent to 32.1 per cent. The Netherlands still holds 30.8 per cent of its gold domestically.

The Dutch gold stock totalled 612.4 tonnes and was valued at €72.2 billion at the end of 2025, according to the DNB.