Author: Priyanka Shankar
Published on: 03/09/2026 | 00:00:00
AI Summary:
The Netherlands has moved billions of dollars of its gold reserves out of the United States and Canada, and transferred them to the United Kingdom amid global geopolitical tensions. On Wednesday, the Dutch Central Bank (DNB) said it had moved the gold reserves to ensure it is “better prepared for severe crises” the US is currently engaged in a bitter trade tariff war with Canada, while Washington is conducting a war in Iran. Countries tend to spread their gold reserves around different locations to ensure the greatest security. Up until now, Zeist held 30.8 percent of the Netherlands’ gold reserves; London held 18.1 percent; New York, 31.3 percent; and Ottawa, 19.7 percent. Since relocation of gold reserves from North America to the UK, the spread is now as follows. This was estimated at 10.34 billion euros as of 3pm (13:00 GMT) on Wednesday in the Netherlands. The transfer of gold reserves began with the bank first selling about 59 tonnes of gold in New York and then buying gold in London. In all, about $10.7bn in gold has been moved from New York, while a little more than $1bn has been shifted from Ottawa. In its press statement on Tuesday, DNB said it is seeking to ensure its gold is “easily tradeable” and highlighted that it considers London a safe place to keep it. Gold is seen as the ultimate reserve asset because it is ideally suited to hedge extreme systemic risks. US-Israel war on Iran is ongoing – with no diplomatic or military end in sight. In January, US forces abducted Venezuela’s then-President Nicolas Maduro in lightning military operation and transported him to the US to stand trial on drugs-and-guns charges. Since then, the US has struck deals to take control of a large part of Venezuela's oil industry. European Union first froze $300bn of Russian central bank sovereign assets in February 2022. The frozen assets represented half of Russia’s total $640bn wealth. By targeting a G20 super economy, the EU broke with a long-held tradition that the reserves of a major nuclear and economic power were out of bounds, under standard international financial norms.
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