Germany, Italy Pressured to Repatriate $245B Worth of Gold from US

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Germany and Italy are facing mounting pressure to repatriate a combined $245 billion worth of gold stored in the Federal Reserve vaults of New York, the Financial Times reported this week.

According to FT, politicians and taxpayer advocacy groups in Europe have voiced deep concerns over the safety of their gold following verbal attacks by US President Donald Trump on the Federal Reserve. Storing bullion abroad can expose Europe’s financial sovereignty to unnecessary risk, they said.

Germany and Italy currently hold the world’s second and third-largest gold reserves at 3,352 tonnes and 2,452 tonnes, respectively. The US, meanwhile, is by far the largest holder at 8,133 tonnes.

 Leading the push is Fabio De Masi, a former member of the European Parliament and now affiliated with Germany’s new left-wing populist BSW party. Speaking to FT, De Masi said there are “strong arguments” to bring more of Germany’s bullion back home.

Germany began storing a significant portion of its gold reserves in the US during the post-WW2 economic boom. As of today, about a third of its gold (1,200 tonnes) remains with the New York Federal Reserve in Manhattan.

Earlier this year, German newspaper Bild reported that a number of senior figures within the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party have discussed the possibility of pulling its gold stockpile out of the US under the current political climate.

 Courtesy: www.mining.com