The Federal Reserve Board published a note finding that gold reserve relocations by Germany, France and the Netherlands since 2013 have not been accompanied by substantial diversification away from U.S. dollar assets. All three central banks continue to hold most of their foreign exchange reserves in dollars. For these institutions, the economic benefits of dollar assets appear to outweigh potential costs associated with sanctions risk.
Germany transferred about one-fifth of its U.S.-held gold to domestic vaults between 2013 and 2017, while its dollar share of foreign exchange reserves remained around 90%. That share currently exceeds 80%. The Netherlands repatriated about two-fifths of its U.S.-held gold in 2014 with little change to its 83% dollar allocation. A subsequent decline to nearly 50% in 2018 proved temporary.
More recent relocations show a similar pattern, although the Dutch dollar allocation declined. France repatriated all its U.S.-held gold in 2025 and early 2026 while maintaining a 60% dollar share of foreign exchange reserves. The Netherlands moved two-fifths of its U.S.-stored gold to London in 2026 alongside a 10-percentage-point decline in its dollar share, but dollars still dominate its foreign exchange reserves. These cases contrast with Russia and Turkey, where gold accumulation or repatriation coincided with reductions in dollar holdings amid concerns about sanctions or geopolitical tensions.