Why the Netherlands pulled 86t of gold out of the US central bank

The Netherlands has moved dozens of tonnes of its gold bullion reserves from the US and Canada. ( AP: Mike Groll )

The central bank of the Netherlands has moved dozens of tonnes of its gold out of the United States and Canada.

The De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) said in a statement on Wednesday the removal aimed to boost the country's "crisis preparedness" amid "increasing geopolitical unrest".

Experts say that rhetoric appears inherently related to the abrasiveness of the Trump administration towards traditional allies.

The DNB said the movement of gold out of North America was aimed to ensure the Netherlands's reserves were "more readily available for use in a crisis".

Between March and August this year, 86 tonnes of a total 313 tonnes of gold held in the US and Canada were moved to the Bank of England in central London.

The De Nederlandsche Bank, the Dutch central bank, says it chose to move the gold in a bid to boost its 'crisis preparedness'. ( AP: Peter Dejong )

"Gold that is held with the Bank of England must meet modern international trade standards and is regarded as the world's most easily tradable gold," the DNB statement said.

"[It] will therefore be the most readily available for DNB in a crisis situation.

"The gold reserves held in New York and Ottawa cannot be utilised as quickly and directly in such a situation."

The bank also said it was within Dutch interests to have quicker access to the reserves because gold was seen as "an anchor of trust" and "ideally suited to hedge extreme systemic risks".

DNB governor Olaf Sleijpen said the decision increased the reserves' economic usability, but did not say why the bank believed the Netherlands needed to increase its crisis preparedness.

The Netherlands's gold reserves totalled 612.4 tonnes, valued at 72.2 billion euros ($116.7 billion) in 2025.

The bars are held in the Dutch town of Zeist, as well as London, the US Federal Reserve in New York City and the Bank of Canada in Ottawa.

During the transfer 59 tonnes of gold held in New York were sold by the DNB, which then bought the same amount of bullion bars in London for storage in the Bank of England.

Another 27 tonnes held in the US and Canada were physically shipped to Zeist, and "a similar quantity" then moved to the United Kingdom.

The DNB said combining physical shipments with a buy-and-sell process lowered the risks associated with gold relocation and was more cost-effective.

"Experience of both approaches will be useful in the event that another relocation is required during a potential future crisis and one of the two approaches proves impossible due to circumstances at the time," it said.

The Bank of England, in central London, stores gold reserves for various other countries such as the Netherlands, Venezuela and Australia. ( AP: Kin Cheung )

The Bank of England stores gold for central banks and is home to the world's largest over-the-counter gold trading hub, where participants trade directly with one another rather than via an exchange.

Threats made by the Trump administration against traditional allies such as Canada and Greenland appear to be the driving force behind the DNB's decision said Australia Institute international and security affairs director Dr Emma Shortis.

"Trump has shown himself entirely willing to trash the established norms and rules of international politics," she said.

"Having those reserves in the United States is a potential vulnerability.

"You can absolutely imagine a scenario where, for whatever reason, the Trump administration decides to hold onto them."

Experts say the political and economic actions of US President Donald Trump toward traditional allies has sparked a decline in overseas confidence in the country. ( Reuters: Evelyn Hockstein )

Dr Shortis described the removal as "strategic" to protect Dutch resources and said it could reflect rising European concerns about the independence of the US Federal Reserve under Mr Trump.

"We have every reason to think, based on evidence of what the Trump administration has already done, that [it is] entirely willing to use advantages they have, like gold reserves stored in the United States, as weapons against traditional allies."

Mr Trump has previously voiced disappointment with the European Union and NATO , implemented harsh tariffs against various European nations and raised the prospect of a US seizure of Greenland .

Since the beginning of his second presidential term, he has also pledged to make Canada the "51st state" of America .

Dr Shortis acknowledged the impacts of the Russia-Ukraine war, which is ongoing after four years of fighting, may have also influenced the DNB decision.

Central banks are growing less willing to have their finances held by foreign nations, according to Rabobank senior market strategist Benjamin Picton.

"Gold is a zero-counterparty asset, so if you buy a US Treasury and you hold that as your reserve assets at your central bank your counterparty is the US Federal Reserve or the US Treasury," he said.

"You're relying on them to make payments. There's a credit risk associated with that."

Global demand for gold has increased in recent months. ( Unsplash: Scottsdale Mint )

He said the DNB move may reflect growing economic sentiment within Europe that opposes the Trump administration's policies.

"There's more suspicion than there used to be … and that is because the United States is leaning on Europe to do more," he said.

"We do have this recent context where the United States has developed very sharp elbows when it comes to demands on allies.

"Europe is starting to respond to that by trying to conduct itself more independently.

Yes, greater pushes for gold repatriation between countries have consistently been raised throughout the past decade.

In April, the Banque de France announced 129 tonnes, or five per cent, of French reserves held in New York were sold in 2025 and replaced by gold later bought in Europe and stored in Paris.

The bank said the sale generated a capital profit of 11 billion euros ($17.8 billion). Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau said in March the decision was not politically motivated.

The Deutsche Bundesbank, Germany's central bank, also repatriated 674 tonnes of its gold reserves from Paris and New York between 2013 and 2017 .

In January, several German economists also raised concerns about the unpredictability of Mr Trump and encouraged the repatriation of the nation's remaining 1,236 tonnes of gold still held in New York.

Austria, Italy and Türkiye have also signalled desires to repatriate more of their gold held abroad, with Istanbul withdrawing all of its reserves held in New York in 2018.

The issue has also been long fought-for by Venezuela, which has been trying for almost 20 years to secure almost $3 billion worth of its gold still stored in the Bank of England .