Dutch Central Bank Moves Gold Out of North America. Geopolitical Unrest Drives The ‘Crisis Preparedness’ Shift.

The Dutch central bank has moved roughly 86 metric tons of gold out of the United States and Canada and into the United Kingdom, reshuffling billions of dollars in reserves as it prepares for potential crises amid growing geopolitical instability.

De Nederlandsche Bank, or DNB, said Wednesday that just over a quarter of the gold it previously stored in New York and Ottawa was transferred to London between March and August. The central bank described the relocation as a practical step designed to make its reserves easier to access and trade during an emergency, pointing specifically to "increasing geopolitical unrest."

The gold is now stored at the Bank of England, one of the world's most important centers for the physical gold market. According to DNB, gold held there must meet international trading standards, making it more readily usable than some of the bars previously stored in the United States and Canada.

"With this relocation, we have improved the tradability of our gold reserves. We expect that we will never need to use them, but we do need to strengthen our resilience and preparedness," DNB Governor Olaf Sleijpen said in a statement.

DNB said gold stored in the United States and Canada could not be mobilized as quickly or directly during a crisis, making London a more practical location for a larger share of the country's reserves.

The decision does not amount to the Netherlands abandoning North America as a storage location. Instead, it leaves the Dutch gold stockpile more evenly distributed among four locations. Following the transfer, 32.1% of DNB's gold reserves are held in London, while 30.8% remain at the central bank's cash center in Zeist, Netherlands. New York and Ottawa each hold 18.5%.

The relocation comes at a particularly volatile moment for both financial markets and geopolitics. Gold, traditionally viewed as a safe-haven asset during periods of economic and political uncertainty, has surged nearly 25% over the past 12 months. It was trading at about $4,429.61 an ounce Thursday, up nearly 1% for the session.

The rally has coincided with continued U.S.-Iran tensions surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, the strategically critical waterway through which a significant portion of the world's oil supplies move. A comprehensive settlement to the conflict remains uncertain, adding to concerns about energy supplies, inflation and global economic stability.

DNB's decision also follows another significant reshuffling of European gold reserves. The French central bank replaced 129 metric tons of gold held at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York between July 2025 and January 2026. Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau said at the time that the operation was not politically motivated.

For the Netherlands, however, the rationale is explicitly tied to preparedness. Central banks hold gold partly because it does not depend on the solvency of a government, company, or other counterparty. During severe financial or geopolitical disruptions, the ability to rapidly trade or mobilize those reserves can become especially important.