Europe is rethinking where it keeps its gold
The Netherlands and France have shifted gold reserves as geopolitical tensions put new focus on where Europe keeps its bullion.
Europe is reconsidering the locations of its gold reserves amid growing geopolitical unrest. The Netherlands moved a significant portion of its gold holdings from North America to London, while France and Germany face pressure to repatriate their reserves. Central banks are increasingly prioritizing diversification of gold storage locations to enhance crisis preparedness and accessibility.
The Netherlands allocated around 86 metric tons of gold from New York and Ottawa to London between March and August, 2025, in response to escalating geopolitical tensions. This reallocation has increased London's share of the Netherlands' gold reserves from 18.1% to 32.1%, making it the largest overseas storage location for Dutch gold.
New York's share in the Netherlands' gold reserves declined from 31.3% to 18.5%, while Ottawa's share remained unchanged. The Dutch central bank, De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), explained that this move improves the tradability of their gold reserves and bolsters resilience and preparedness, as gold held in London can be sold more quickly in a crisis due to its strategic location and existing international trading standards.
France also relocated its gold holdings, selling the remaining gold in New York and purchasing replacement bullion in Europe to replace older bars with more tradeable bullion. Germany and Italy are under pressure to reconsider gold stored in New York, although neither central bank has announced plans to repatriate their gold reserves.
A recent survey by the World Gold Council found that 10% of central banks had diversified their overseas gold storage locations in the past year, up from 2% a year earlier, while 9% increased domestic storage, up from 5%. This shift is driven by geopolitical risks, wars, sanctions, and geopolitical fragmentation, as well as the emergence of new vaulting hubs like Singapore's central bank, which will begin storing gold for foreign central banks and sovereign entities in October to provide liquidity during Asian trading hours.
Gold prices have surged due to geopolitical uncertainty and central-bank buying, with spot gold trading around $4,470 per troy ounce as of late Thursday, up 3.5% year to date following a record high of nearly $5,600 in late January.
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