Dutch Central Bank Relocates 86 Tonnes of Gold to London Citing Geopolitical Unrest
6 sources across 5 countries
Who reported this
- The Guardian
- BBC News
- South China Morning Post
- Telex
- Corriere della Sera
- CNN
What the colours mean
- Left
- Centre-left
- Centre
- Centre-right
- Right
- A hatched block means the outlet is affiliated with, or controlled by, a state.
Political lean describes where an outlet sits within the politics of its own country. It is never a position on a single global scale.
Political lean is comparable inside one country and not across them, which is why the bar groups by country first. Publicly funded broadcasters are not marked as state-linked.
The owner of each outlet is listed as a matter of record, not as a judgement about the outlet.
The Dutch central bank, known as De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), has moved 86 tonnes of its gold reserves from the United States and Canada to London. The bank announced the move on Wednesday, stating that the relocation was necessary to strengthen resilience and preparedness amid increasing geopolitical unrest. According to the DNB, gold held in London is more easily tradable and readily available in a crisis situation than reserves held in New York or Ottawa.
The operation took place between March and August. It involved a combination of physical transport and financial transactions. Approximately 27 tonnes of gold were physically moved from North America to the DNB vault in Zeist, Netherlands, and then transferred to London. The remaining 59 tonnes were relocated by selling gold in New York and repurchasing the same amount in London. This method was used to spread the risks associated with moving large quantities of precious metals.
Before the transfer, the DNB held 31.3 percent of its gold in New York and 19.7 percent in Ottawa. Following the operation, the holdings in both countries decreased to 18.5 percent. The share of gold held in London increased from 18.1 percent to 32.1 percent, while 30.8 percent remains in the Netherlands. At the end of 2025, the total Dutch gold stock amounted to 612.4 tonnes, valued at 72.2 billion euros.
Outlets with a center lean linked the move to specific tensions, including a trade dispute between the US and Canada and the economic uncertainty caused by a US war with Iran. Outlets with a center left lean focused on the bank's official statements regarding liquidity and the strategic deployability of assets. Outlets with a center right lean highlighted the potential for this move to damage confidence in the United States if other central banks follow suit.
How each side framed it
- Centre-left
- These outlets emphasized the bank's official reasoning regarding liquidity and the technical advantages of the London market.
- Centre
- These outlets connected the move to specific geopolitical conflicts, such as the US war with Iran and US Canada trade disputes.
- Centre-right
- These outlets focused on the broader implications for US confidence and the strategic diversification of risks.
Sources
- Centre BBC News: Netherlands moves billions in gold to London in 'crisis preparedness' move
- Centre-left CNN: Dutch central bank shifts billions in gold from US to Britain in ‘crisis preparedness’ move
- Centre-right Corriere della Sera: The Netherlands moves 86 tons of gold from North America to London: "We must be ready for geopolitical crises"
- Centre-right South China Morning Post: Dutch shift 86 tonnes of gold from US and Canada to UK over ‘geopolitical unrest’
- Centre Telex: Netherlands prepares for crisis, central bank moves 86 tons of gold to London
- Centre-left The Guardian: Dutch central bank moves 86 tonnes of gold to UK from US and Canada, citing ‘geopolitical unrest’
100% of the statements in this article were traced back to the source articles listed above.