Planes rushed to bring hundreds of tons of gold back to the US, will London run out of gold?

Hundreds of tons of gold were moved from London vaults to New York. Why is so much gold stored in London? Is there still gold in the vaults?

London is the world's largest physical bullion trading center, with more than 8,500 tonnes of gold held in vaults as of January 2025, according to data from the London Bullion Market Association.

Commercial vaults are run by dealers such as JPMorgan Chase & Co. and HSBC Holdings Plc. The Bank of England also holds a large amount of gold in nine heavily fortified vaults.

The Bank of England holds large amounts of gold not only for the UK Treasury, but also for central banks and other institutions around the world. The BOE is the second-largest gold depository in the world, after the New York Federal Reserve, and holds around 420,000 bars.

The UK's reputation for stability and the security of the BOE's gold vaults makes it a safe place for countries to store their gold reserves.

Storing gold in London allows countries to easily access the liquidity of the London gold market, facilitating trading and other financial transactions.

London Gold Rush.jpg — Gold vault in London. Photo: Kitco

The BOE is often seen as the last resort for tapping the physical market. Gold depositors here rarely move their bullion anywhere because it is relatively cheap to hold and offers the safest security available.

A large amount of gold bullion has been withdrawn from London vaults and shipped to New York due to the impact of US President Donald Trump's tariffs. The BOE recorded the largest amount of gold transferred in January since 2012.

There is still plenty of gold in the vaults deep beneath Threadneedle Street. The BOE’s vaults are not empty, but the Bank of England is struggling to keep up with demand, leading to weeks-long queues to withdraw gold and even a drop in the spot price of gold in London.

In practice, the number of vault staff is limited. The bullion is divided into two underground levels, making it difficult to move around. The Bank of England acts as custodian, ensuring that each customer’s gold is kept separately and can be retrieved when needed.

When they want to withdraw their gold, they will receive back the same gold bar that they deposited, not another gold bar of equivalent value. This is different from depositing money in a regular bank, where the money is pooled and the depositor is only entitled to claim back the equivalent amount.

It is these logistical complications that pose a risk to those who want to move gold from the UK to the US as quickly as possible to get a high price before the possibility of tariffs being imposed.

Transfer gold to the US, why go through Switzerland?

Normally, shipping gold to the US is quite simple, just hide it in the cargo compartment of a commercial plane. However, the amount of gold transported by air on a plane will be limited, because insurance companies regulate the value of gold each time to avoid risks.

There are also size requirements for gold. In London, 400-ounce gold bars are the standard, while for Comex contracts, traders must deliver 100-ounce or 1kg gold bars.

As a result, gold bars must be sent to refiners in Switzerland to be melted down and recast to the correct size before being shipped to the U.S. This has created a bottleneck as there is a particular race to reposition gold bullion warehouses. The waiting times at refiners are getting longer as demand for their services increases.

As of mid-February, Comex vaults had grown by more than 20 million ounces, worth about $60 billion. Much of the gold was flown from London to New York.

Central banks continue to buy gold amid rising gold prices. According to the World Gold Council, central banks will buy more than 1,000 tons of gold bullion in 2024.

Hundreds of tons of gold were moved from London vaults to New York. Why is so much gold stored in London? Is there still gold in the vaults?

Planes urgently transport hundreds of tons of gold to the US

Plane packed with gold, thousands of tons shipped to the US

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