Gold worth hundreds of crores is being transported from London to the United States, where it is being stored in American banks. Amid warnings from Donald Trump about imposing tariffs on European countries, which are America's allies, large quantities of gold are being transported. Since Trump took office as the President of the United States, he has made several controversial decisions. He announced a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum imports, and there are concerns that gold might also be subjected to tariffs. These decisions have led to pressure on the metal industry. As a result, the value of gold is falling in London while its price in New York is soaring. Amid Trump's tariff threats, the price of gold in London has dropped by $20, while in the United States, the price of gold per ounce is nearing $3000.
As a result of these developments, major American banks like JPMorgan Chase and HSBC are on high alert. They are rapidly transporting their gold reserves from vaults in London to their home country via airplanes. London’s Threadneedle Street houses nine vaults with hundreds of tons of gold, worth about $252 billion. This is the second-largest gold reserve in the world. Due to trade war fears, JPMorgan Chase is planning to move $4 billion worth of gold in just one month. A similar gold transfer happened in 2020 when Swiss refineries closed due to the pandemic. On the other hand, since the U.S. elections, the influx of gold into America has increased drastically. By November 5th last year, gold reserves in the U.S. amounted to $50 billion, and now they have reached $106 billion.
Last year in May, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) transferred a significant amount of gold from England to India. Around 100 tons, which is about 100,000 kilograms of gold, was added to the country's national reserves. This transfer was part of transportation and storage arrangements. The RBI stores gold reserves in various locations, including the Mumbai Mint and its old offices in Nagpur. For several years, the central bank has been buying gold in large quantities and has been regularly reviewing and deciding where to store it. As a result, the amount of gold in foreign reserves has significantly increased, leading to the decision to bring some of it back to India.
