The Dutch central bank has moved about $12 billion in gold reserves from New York to London, following a similar move by France's central bank which sold off approximately $15 billion of bullion held in New York. Germany and Italy have been considering pulling their own gold reserves from US vaults, with both countries being among the largest holders of gold after the US. The repatriation is reportedly due to concerns about Donald Trump's administration, although the exact nature of these concerns is not specified. This trend appears to be a sign of dwindling trust between the US and its European allies.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-04,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
European countries, led by the Dutch and France, are moving their gold reserves out of New York and back to their home territories, such as London and Paris. This shift comes after Germany and Italy considered pulling their gold from US vaults last year. The reason for this move is reportedly a loss of trust in the United States, particularly under President Donald Trump. $12 billion of Dutch gold reserves have been transferred to London, while France's central bank has sold off $15 billion worth of gold held in New York. This mass exodus of gold from US storage facilities is a significant development, reflecting a decline in confidence between the US and its European allies. The move may be seen as an attempt by these countries to protect their assets from potential US actions or policies that could impact their value.
Written for “European Central Bank Policies” on 2026-09-05,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted
verbatim and was checked against the article text before being
stored, so you can find it in the original.
Leaning score -0.35 for article 3802 (high confidence, 1 verified quote) · logged 2026-09-04
Commentary. The three signals behind a trust
score all measure a newsroom's record with its own reporting, so they
are not computed for this source.
How trust is scored.
No corrections detected for this publisher. That may mean careful
reporting, or simply that nothing has been checked.
NEARLY A CENTURY AGO, our European allies evacuated their gold to America to safeguard it from the Nazis.
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allies → evacuate → Nazis
Today, some European countries are taking it back—apparently to protect it from Donald Trump.
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countries → take → Trump
I wish this were a gag about our president’s garish tastes.
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this → wish → tastes
In a frightening sign of just how much trust has been lost between the United States and its erstwhile allies, billions of dollars of gold reserves are being repatriated or otherwise moved out of Trump’s reach.
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billions → lose → reach
Yesterday, the Dutch central bank announced that it had shifted about $12 billion of gold reserves held mostly in New York over to London vaults instead.1
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it → announce → vaults
This follows a similar move by France’s central bank, which recently sold off about $15 billion of bullion held in New York, replacing it with gold bars stored in Paris instead.
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which → follow → Paris
And for the past year, Germany and Italy—the second- and third-largest holders of gold reserves, respectively, after the United States—have been debating whether to pull their gold from U.S. vaults, too.
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Germany → debate → vaults
I initially assumed this must have had some boring technical explanation—until I talked to the experts and learned just how truly insane the story is.
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story → assume → experts
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you → hate → you
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