The Dutch central bank (DNB) has moved 86 tons of its gold reserves stored in the US and Canada to London, citing rising geopolitical tensions. This was reported by the “Guardian“, reports News.bg.
DNB points out that the gold reserves stored in London can be traded more easily than those in New York and Ottawa. According to the bank, this will allow it to use the gold more quickly in a crisis situation.
“With this step, we have improved the possibilities for using the gold reserves. "Although we assume that we will never actually have to use them, we still need to strengthen our resilience and readiness," said Olaf Sleippen, a representative of the DNB management.
The Netherlands has 612.4 tons of gold
The total volume of the Dutch gold reserves amounts to 612.4 tons, with an estimated value of 72.2 billion euros.
Before the move, DNB stored 31.3% of its gold in New York and 19.7% in Ottawa. After the operation, each country's share of the Dutch gold reserves is 18.5%.
The share of gold stored in London increases from 18.1% to 32.1%. The bank continues to hold 30.8% of its reserves in the Netherlands.
Gold transferred through sales and physical transport
DNB explained that the transfer was carried out partly through a sale and purchase and partly through the physical transport of gold.
The bank moved over 27 tonnes of physical gold from the US and Canada to Zeist. The same amount was transported from Zeist to London, which avoided the need to melt the gold bars.
The operation took place between March and August this year.
The London market is the largest and most liquid, which the bank says makes it easier to use the assets in times of crisis.