Dutch yank gold from NY, citing ‘geopolitical unrest' — becoming 2nd European country to pull precious metal

The Dutch central bank has yanked more than 78 metric tons of gold out of New York, citing the tumultuous international climate — the latest European country to ditch or downsize its US precious metal stores. De Nederlandsche Bank, or DNB, cut its New York holdings as it reallocated about 86 total metric tons of gold held across the US and Canada, largely toward London, according to the Financial Times. The bank said the overhaul was designed to strengthen its readiness for a crisis amid “increasing geopolitical unrest.”

Gold held at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York has come under fresh scrutiny as European officials debate the risks of keeping national reserves in the US. DNB did not blame Trump or suggest Washington was planning to seize its reserves. Instead, the central bank said spreading its gold more evenly across jurisdictions would reduce risk while making more of the precious metal readily available during a crisis, the Financial Times reported. “With this relocation, we have improved the tradeability of our gold reserves,” DNB governor Olaf Sleijpen said.

Earlier this year, France eliminated its remaining New York gold holdings, selling 129 metric tons that had been stored in the States, according to reports. It used proceeds from the January sale to buy an equivalent amount of gold in Europe, and the precious pile now sits in Paris. The Banque de France explicitly ruled out a political explanation for the move at the time. As for the Netherlands, it holds about 612 metric tons of gold. Its latest reshuffling reduced the country’s New York stockpile by just over 78 metric tons and its Ottawa holdings by roughly 7 metric tons, according to the FT. A US ton is about 10% heavier than a metric ton. Most of the bullion didn’t actually cross the Atlantic.

Only about 27 metric tons were physically transported from North America to Europe, while DNB sold much of its remaining North American holdings and purchased replacement gold in London, the world's largest physical-bullion trading hub. The shift nevertheless comes against a politically charged backdrop in Europe, where several German lawmakers have publicly questioned whether keeping their country's massive gold hoard in New York remains prudent under Trump. Markus Ferber, a German member of the European Parliament, warned last year that Trump's unpredictability created risk around holding foreign reserves in the US. “Trump is erratic and one cannot rule out that someday he will come up with creative ideas how to treat foreign gold reserves,” Ferber told Reuters in May 2025.

German Green lawmaker Katharina Beck has likewise called for reconsidering the country's US holdings, warning that its reserves must not become a geopolitical “pawn.” Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, another German member of the European Parliament, has also argued that Trump's policies make the country's lack of unrestricted physical control over its New York gold a growing risk. None of the politicians has said Trump has an actual plan to confiscate the bullion. Michael Jäger, who heads the European Taxpayers Association and is not a politician, has issued an even starker warning. “Trump is unpredictable,” Jäger said earlier this year, arguing that German gold was “no longer safe” in the Fed's vaults and raising concerns that Germany could pote...