Amsterdam: The Dutch Central Bank (DNB) announced Wednesday that it removed large parts of its gold reserves from the US and Canada for getting better prepared to crisis situations, according to broadcaster NOS.

According to Anadolu Agency, DNB announced that around 86 tonnes of Dutch gold reserves had been transferred from the US and Canada to London between March and August this year. The figure represented over a quarter of the approximately 313 tonnes of gold that DNB had stored in the US and Canada. DNB noted that the gold had been moved to "better prepare for serious crises."

DNB emphasized that London was a major trading center for physical gold, allowing the precious metal to be sold more quickly in a crisis. In contrast, the bank stated that in New York and Ottawa, the gold is "less immediately available" during critical moments.

Furthermore, over 27 tons of gold from the US and Canada have been physically relocated to Zeist in the Netherlands. As a result, the share of gold reserves in New York decreased from 31.3% to 18.5%, while in Canada, the figure fell from 19.7% to 18.5%.

The DNB previously expressed concerns about the hardening relationship between Europe and the US, cautioning that the US could easily halt payment transactions in the Netherlands, which advocates for reducing dependency on the US. However, DNB informed NOS that it was not worried about the possibility that the US would use the Dutch gold reserves if relations deteriorated further.