A journalist holds a gold ingot next to a security officer of the German Central Bank in Frankfurt, Germany. Germany’s central bank is bringing home some $36 billion worth of gold stored in the United States and France.The Bundesbank said in a statement Wednesday that it will repatriate all 374 tons of gold it had stored in Paris by 2020. An additional 300 tons – equivalent to 8 percent of the Bundesbank’s total reserves worth about $183 billion – will also be shipped from New York to Frankfurt. Frankfurt will hold half of Germany’s 3,400 tons of gold by 2020, with New York retaining 37 percent and London storing 13 percent.FRANKFURT, Germany – Germany’s central bank is hauling home tens of thousands of gold bars currently stored in the United States and France, in a high-security operation spread over eight years.
All 374 tons of German gold held in Paris vaults will be moved back to the Bundesbank’s vaults in Frankfurt by 2020, the bank said Wednesday. A further 300 tons of gold stored in New York will also be brought back.
In total, the shipments are worth $36 billion at current market prices and represent about 19 percent of Germany’s gold reserves – the world’s second-largest after the United States’.
Once the shipment is complete, Frankfurt will hold half of Germany’s 3,400 tons of reserve gold – currently worth about $183 billion – with New York retaining 37 percent and London storing 13 percent.
But don’t expect the Bundesbank to reveal how it’s going to keep the valuable cargo safe on its way back to Germany – especially after the stunning raid of a Berlin bank earlier this week in which burglars tunneled 30 meters (100 feet) to reach the safety deposit room.