Story audio is generated using AI
By Bart MeijerAmsterdam ― The Dutch central bank on Wednesday said it had transferred 86 tonnes of gold from New York and Ottawa to London in the past six months to improve tradability and be better prepared for any possible crisis.In total, 27.5% of the gold held in North America was transferred, the bank said.“Gold that is held with the Bank of England is regarded as the world’s most easily tradable gold and will therefore be the most readily available in a crisis situation,” it said.“We expect that we will never need to use them, but we do need to strengthen our resilience and preparedness,” Central Bank president Olaf Sleijpen said about the gold reserves.The bullion transfer comes months after the Bank of France upgraded 129 tonnes, or about 5% of France’s total gold reserves, it had been holding in New York, by selling the older bars and buying modern international-standard bars between July 2025 and January 2026.France’s new bars were stored in Paris rather than New York. Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau said in March the decision to change the location was not politically motivated.The Dutch transfer was effected by selling about 59 tonnes of gold in New York and buying gold in London that meets the Bank of England’s international market standards.In addition, 27 tonnes of gold were physically moved from North America to the Netherlands, while the same amount with the proper standards was transferred from the Dutch vault in Zeist to London.That last move prevented the need to remelt gold bars, the bank said.The transfer did not change the size of the Dutch gold reserve, which remained at 612.4 tonnes.The Netherlands now holds 32% of its gold in London, while almost 31% is stored domestically. The other 37% is evenly spread over New York and Ottawa.
