The Dutch central bank, De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), has relocated 86 tonnes of gold from vaults in the United States and Canada to London, citing "increasing geopolitical unrest". The bank said gold held in London can be traded more quickly than reserves in New York or Ottawa, allowing it to respond faster in a crisis, though officials stressed they expect never to actually need to use the reserves. Analysts noted the move reflects a broader shift by some central banks away from US storage amid political uncertainty, though most, including Germany's Bundesbank, have so far chosen to keep their reserves in place.

The transfer, carried out between March and August this year, combined buying and selling of gold with physical shipments, including moving more than 27 tonnes of bullion via Zeist in the Netherlands to avoid melting down bars. As a result, New York's and Ottawa's shares of the Netherlands' gold fell from 31.3% and 19.7% respectively to 18.5% each, while London's share rose from 18.1% to 32.1%; 30.8% remains stored domestically. The Dutch gold stock totalled 612.4 tonnes, valued at €72.2bn ($83.7bn) at the end of 2025. Analysts said the move was largely a one-off but warned that if other central banks followed suit it could dent confidence in the US as a custodian of gold reserves.