De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), the Dutch central bank, has confirmed that it relocated 86 tonnes of gold out of the United States and Canada to London between March and August, citing increasing geopolitical unrest and the need to strengthen crisis preparedness.

The transfer amounts to more than a quarter of the roughly 313 tonnes DNB had held in New York and Ottawa combined. Around 59 tonnes was handled by selling gold in New York and repurchasing an equivalent quantity in London, a method that avoided the cost and quality risk of physically melting down bars for transport. A further 27 tonnes was physically shipped to DNB's own vault in Zeist in the Netherlands, with the same amount then moved on from Zeist to London.

DNB said combining physical transport with buying and selling allowed it to spread the risks associated with such a complex operation, though it has not disclosed exactly how the physical gold crossed the Atlantic.

The reshuffle leaves New York's share of Dutch reserves at 18.5%, down from 31.3%, and Canada's also at 18.5%, down from 19.7%. London now holds the largest single share of Dutch gold at 32.1%, up from 18.1% before the move, while 30.8% remains stored domestically in the Netherlands.

DNB President Olaf Sleijpen said the move was necessary to strengthen the bank's resilience and preparedness, adding that gold held in London is regarded as the world's most easily tradable, making it more readily deployable in a crisis than reserves held in the US or Canada. London's status as the world's largest over-the-counter gold trading centre underpins that assessment, since reserves held there can be mobilised in the London market without cross-border settlement.

DNB did not specify what it meant by geopolitical unrest, but the announcement lands against the backdrop of an escalating US-Canada tariff dispute, including an additional 50% levy on close to C$28bn of Canadian goods, alongside the broader uncertainty created by the US war with Iran. The bank has also repeatedly flagged concern about Dutch reliance on US custody since Donald Trump returned to the White House, though it has stated it is not worried the US would move to seize the reserves outright.

Total Dutch gold holdings stood at 612.4 tonnes at the end of 2025, valued at €72.2 billion. The relocation does not change that total, but it marks one of the more explicit public statements yet from a G10 central bank on reducing its custodial reliance on North America. It is not the first such operation by DNB: in 2014 the bank repatriated roughly 122 tonnes of gold from New York to the Netherlands, also citing a desire to have an appropriate share of reserves held domestically.

A Custody Reshuffle, Not Fresh Buying

Because the operation is a reserve relocation rather than fresh buying, it does not change global gold supply or demand in isolation. DNB's total holdings are unchanged.

However, DNB's explicit reference to geopolitical unrest and crisis preparedness adds to a broader theme of central banks reducing reliance on US and Canadian custody, a slow-burn narrative that has supported gold sentiment alongside actual central bank buying. The move follows growing central bank scrutiny of holding reserves in North America since tensions escalated between Washington and its trading partners.

The relocation feeds into the longer-running de-dollarization and reserve diversification discussion that has accompanied gold's multi-year rally. The more telling signal would be if other European central banks begin disclosing similar moves out of US and Canadian vaults, as a pattern across several banks would carry more weight than a single relocation.

In isolation, the move is more a signal of shifting sovereign risk perception than a direct price catalyst.

Context: Central Bank Demand Remains in Focus

Dip buyers have remained active in gold, with Schroders recently turning more bullish on the metal citing central bank buying (Dip buyers coming in: Schroders turns more bullish on gold citing central bank buying).

Whether other European central banks follow DNB's example with similar disclosures will be a key point to watch in the months ahead.