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Germany will be pulling about 675 tons of gold from their storage abroad.
Deutsche Bundesbank - Press releases - Deutsche Bundesbank
Most commentaries, e.g. FT, note that the only other countries to recently do so on similar (but smaller!) scale were Venezuela and Iran.
The Federal Bank is reacting to recently rather widespread distrust in the Fed regarding whether the German gold is actually still where it's supposed to be.
See e.g. Tracking down Germany's gold | Germany | DW.DE | 16.11.2012 regarding that. Germany supposedly previously pulled a similar stunt regarding reserves held in London - see Bundesbank slashed London gold holdings in mystery move - Telegraph
Deutsche Bundesbank - Press releases - Deutsche Bundesbank
Deutsche Bundesbank’s new storage plan for Germany’s gold reserves
By 2020, the Bundesbank intends to store half of Germany’s gold reserves in its own vaults in Germany. The other half will remain in storage at its partner central banks in New York and London. With this new storage plan, the Bundesbank is focusing on the two primary functions of the gold reserves: to build trust and confidence domestically, and the ability to exchange gold for foreign currencies at gold trading centres abroad within a short space of time.
The following table shows the current and the envisaged future allocation of Germany’s gold reserves across the various storage locations:
31 December 2012 31 December 2020
Frankfurt am Main 31 % 50 %
New York 45 % 37 %
London 13 % 13 %
Paris 11 % 0 %
To this end, the Bundesbank is planning a phased relocation of 300 tonnes of gold from New York to Frankfurt as well as an additional 374 tonnes from Paris to Frankfurt by 2020.
The withdrawal of the reserves from the storage location in Paris reflects the change in the framework conditions since the introduction of the euro. Given that France, like Germany, also has the euro as its national currency, the Bundesbank is no longer dependent on Paris as a financial centre in which to exchange gold for an international reserve currency should the need arise. As capacity has now become available in the Bundesbank’s own vaults in Germany, the gold stocks can now be relocated from Paris to Frankfurt.
By 2020, the Bundesbank intends to store half of Germany’s gold reserves in its own vaults in Germany. The other half will remain in storage at its partner central banks in New York and London. With this new storage plan, the Bundesbank is focusing on the two primary functions of the gold reserves: to build trust and confidence domestically, and the ability to exchange gold for foreign currencies at gold trading centres abroad within a short space of time.
The following table shows the current and the envisaged future allocation of Germany’s gold reserves across the various storage locations:
31 December 2012 31 December 2020
Frankfurt am Main 31 % 50 %
New York 45 % 37 %
London 13 % 13 %
Paris 11 % 0 %
To this end, the Bundesbank is planning a phased relocation of 300 tonnes of gold from New York to Frankfurt as well as an additional 374 tonnes from Paris to Frankfurt by 2020.
The withdrawal of the reserves from the storage location in Paris reflects the change in the framework conditions since the introduction of the euro. Given that France, like Germany, also has the euro as its national currency, the Bundesbank is no longer dependent on Paris as a financial centre in which to exchange gold for an international reserve currency should the need arise. As capacity has now become available in the Bundesbank’s own vaults in Germany, the gold stocks can now be relocated from Paris to Frankfurt.
The Federal Bank is reacting to recently rather widespread distrust in the Fed regarding whether the German gold is actually still where it's supposed to be.
See e.g. Tracking down Germany's gold | Germany | DW.DE | 16.11.2012 regarding that. Germany supposedly previously pulled a similar stunt regarding reserves held in London - see Bundesbank slashed London gold holdings in mystery move - Telegraph
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