Article
【Trump policy uncertainty prompts central banks to reallocate gold; London vault holdings approach tonnes】
The Financial Times reported that US policy uncertainty, tariff risks, and the precedent of overseas sovereign assets being frozen are prompting some central banks to reassess where their gold reserves are held, with London emerging as one beneficiary. New York still dominates gold futures and derivatives trading, but London’s advantages in physical gold storage, over-the-counter trading, and central-bank reserve management are becoming more pronounced. This year, the Dutch central bank March to August approximately 86 tonnes of gold from the United States and Canada to London, raising London’s share of its 612.4 tonnes of gold reserves from 18.1%to 32.1%. The Dutch central bank said the move was intended to improve gold’s tradability and availability for use in a severe crisis. Data from the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) show that, as of the end of 2026 September, commercial vaults in London and the Bank of England’s vaults held a combined 9821 tonnes of gold, up 1.96%month on month, with a value of approximately 1300000000000 USD. London’s mature over-the-counter trading system enables gold to be lent, swapped, and traded without physically moving bullion, enhancing the liquidity of physical gold. The freezing of Russia’s overseas sovereign assets after the Russia-Ukraine conflict has also made countries more attentive to the jurisdiction of reserve assets and their availability under extreme circumstances. However, there is currently no indication that central banks are comprehensively withdrawing from the US gold custody system. Asian financial centers such as Singapore and Hong Kong are also accelerating the development of gold storage and trading infrastructure, and the global gold market is taking shape around New York-led derivatives, London-focused physical gold, and rapidly developing Asia.