Germany’s government is discussing a possibility of withdrawing its gold reserves measuring around 1,200 tonnes out of US depository amid concerns about Donald Trump’s economic policy.
For decades, Berlin has stored a large amount of their gold reserves in an underground vault at the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank of New York in Manhattan, Kitco News reported. Now, senior figures from Germany’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, which will lead the country’s newly elected government, are mulling the repatriation of gold reserves amid distrust in new US administration.
German gold bullion stored in US treasury is valued at $124 billion.
A former CDU minister Marco Wanderwitz previously lobbied to personally inspect the New York gold reserves in 2012, but his request was denied. He has called for a policy that would enable German officials to regularly inspect the gold, or to return it to Germany.
Half of Germany’s sovereign gold is held in Frankfurt, while around 30% is with the Fed in the US. A further 13% is stored with the Bank of England in London, with the remainder in France. Currently, Germany has the world’s second-largest gold reserves at about 3,350 tonnes, behind only the US and its 8,100 tonnes.
However, Germany’s central bank representatives said they have complete confidence in the security of their bullion.
Theodor Lisovoy, Managing Editor, Rough&Polished
