Dutch central bank shifts gold reserves toward Europe for crisis readiness

The Dutch central bank relocated about 86 metric tons of gold from North America (New York and Ottawa) to London between March and August as part of a “crisis preparedness” strategy, reducing New York and Ottawa holdings to 18.5% each and increasing Europe’s share. About 27 tons were moved physically to the Zeist vault, a similar amount from Zeist to London, and roughly 59 tons were sold in New York to fund gold purchases in London. The bank’s total gold stock is 612.4 metric tons (about €72.2 billion at end-2025). Officials say the relocations improve tradability and resilience, even if they do not expect to need to use the reserves in a crisis.