Latest news with #Bundesbank
Straits Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
Germany questions the safety of its gold reserves in New York under Trump
Germany has the world's second-largest stock of gold at 3,352 tonnes, with one-third of it stored in New York. PHOTO: REUTERS Germany questions the safety of its gold reserves in New York under Trump FRANKFURT/BERLIN - The safety of Germany's gold reserves held overseas and in New York in particular, until recently mainly a talking point for the country's far-right party and gold bugs, is becoming a matter of public debate with Donald Trump back in the White House. The Bundesbank, Germany's central bank, has the world's second-largest stock of gold at 3,352 tonnes. One-third of it is stored at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York for reasons dating back to the Cold War and the monetary system created in the wake of World War II. Those holdings have occasionally attracted scrutiny in the past, and the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) has embraced calls for a return of the country's gold back home. US President Donald Trump's confrontations with longstanding allies over trade and security, and his attacks on the Fed, have revived the issue in recent weeks, and more mainstream voices have joined the debate. Germany's Taxpayers Federation sent letters this week to the Bundesbank and the Finance Ministry calling on them to repatriate the gold stored in the US. "Trump wants to control the Fed, which would also mean controlling the German gold reserves in the US," Mr Michael Jaeger, vice-president of the Taxpayers Federation, told Reuters. "It's our money, it should be brought back." Mr Markus Ferber, an influential member of the European Parliament for Germany's ruling Christian Democrats, said the US was "no longer the reliable partner it used to be." "Trump is erratic and one cannot rule out that someday he will come up with creative ideas how to treat foreign gold reserves," he told Reuters. "The Bundesbank's policy for gold reserves has to reflect the new geopolitical realities." Public broadcasters ZDF and ARD have also recently carried reports asking how safe Germany's gold is in New York. The Bundesbank said the New York Fed remained "an important storage location" for its gold. "We have no doubt that in the New York Fed we have a trustworthy, reliable partner for the storage of our gold holdings," the central bank said, in response to a Reuters enquiry. The German Finance Ministry referred Reuters queries on the matter to the central bank, while stressing the Bundesbank's independence. Any hint that Germany might be considering moving gold out of New York would be politically sensitive as it could be interpreted as lack of confidence in the Federal Reserve and its independence. US President Donald Trump's confrontations with longstanding allies over trade and security and his attacks on the US Fed have given Germans pause for thought over the security of the country's gold reserves. PHOTO: REUTERS More on this Topic Trump summons Fed's Powell, tells him he's making a mistake on interest rates The European Central Bank last week stressed its trust in the Fed as a reliable partner. But Mr Trump's frequent criticism of Fed chairman Jerome Powell, whose term ends in a year, has fuelled some concerns about the Fed's future independence and its long-standing commitments to its partners. Mr Peter Boehringer, the architect of the original decade-old gold campaign and now an AfD lawmaker, said he felt vindicated that the topic of repatriating gold reserves has now become a matter discussed by mainstream media and other lawmakers. "When I started asking about the gold, I was dismissed as a conspiracy theorist," he said. "Today, after Trump, my concerns are shared widely." Germany accumulated most of its gold during its 1950s-1960s export boom. A key advantage of storing some of it in New York during the Cold War was to keep it at a safe distance from Russia in case of an invasion. The gold also cemented a military alliance with the US, which still has dozens of military bases around Germany, including Europe's largest. With the Soviet Union long gone, the Bundesbank brought back 300 tonnes of gold from New York between 2014 and 2017, saying it wanted to "build confidence at home". But Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and the implicit threat it represents for the rest of Europe, was likely to complicate Germany's geopolitical calculus again. For Mr Ferber, this underscored the need for greater diversification across several, and potentially new, locations. Today, Germany's gold reserves are held at the Bundesbank headquarters in Frankfurt, in New York, and at the Bank of England in London. 'For gold reserves, diversification is key. Having all eggs in too few baskets is never advisable,' Mr Ferber said, without specifying where the gold should be brought. Mr Fritz Guentzler, a spokesperson for the Christian Democrats in the German Parliament, said he had no reason to mistrust the Fed but the Bundesbank should continue "regularly inspecting the stocks" of gold. The Bundesbank said it ran regular sample tests and had inspected 13 per cent of stock in New York over the years. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Germany stores 1,200 tons of gold at the Fed—now Trump fears are sparking repatriation demands
Ever since the end of the Second World War in 1945, a rehabilitated Germany has built close ties to the U.S. and committed to Western democratic values. The country has put its money—or rather, its gold—where its mouth is. That financial commitment to the U.S. is now being put to the test, as calls from within Germany grow louder to pull the country's vast stock of gold reserves out of the Federal Reserve. Germany has the world's second-highest stockpile of official gold reserves, at 3,352 tons. More than a third of that, around 1,200 tons, is stored in the Fed, equivalent to about $130 billion in value. Yet President Donald Trump's adversarial rhetoric against the country and its allies has prompted calls to check on those reserves, and, if possible, bring them home. Following the Second World War, Germany had effectively depleted its gold reserves to fund its various conflicts. The blank slate on which the country built up its fresh batch of reserves mirrored the country's new diplomatic strategy. Germany prioritized moving vast amounts of gold out of the country and far from the Soviet Union, fearing for its status during the Cold War. The country's close ties with the U.S., which has historically held up the Western World order, made the Fed an obvious resting place for the commodity. In a whirlwind opening salvo to his presidency, though, Trump has rocked the established geopolitical order, slapping import tariffs on traditional allies like the European Union and threatening to take control of the territory of Greenland by force. Germany has also been prompted into a multibillion-dollar pledge to beef up its military, partly motivated by Trump's rhetoric on NATO and the war in Ukraine. Several voices across Germany now believe the U.S. is no longer a safe haven for its multibillion-dollar gold reserves. Speaking to German publication Bild last month, Christian Democratic Union politician Markus Ferber said: 'I demand regular checks of Germany's gold reserves. Official representatives of the Bundesbank must personally count the bars and document their results.' In a follow up interview with Reuters, Ferber said: 'Trump is erratic and one cannot rule out that someday he will come up with creative ideas how to treat foreign gold reserves. 'The Bundesbank's policy for gold reserves has to reflect the new geopolitical realities.' Ferber's latest comments came as the German Taxpayers Federation sent a letter to the Bundesbank asking for Germany's central bank, the Bundesbank, to repatriate the country's gold. 'Trump wants to control the Fed, which would also mean controlling the German gold reserves in the U.S,' the federation's vice-president, Michael Jaeger, told Reuters. 'It's our money, it should be brought back.' To date, the Bundesbank has been careful not to ruffle feathers in the U.S. with regard to the status of its gold reserves, publicly backing the Fed as a protector of its assets. Countries have been taking different approaches to how they think about the location of their gold since Trump. Indeed, many nations have decided to create closer ties between their assets and the country to avoid negative repercussions. In late January, the FT reported that waiting times to get gold out of the Bank of England had increased eightfold as countries rushed to get their reserves across to the U.S. to safeguard the commodity from potential tariffs. Germany itself holds about 13% of its gold reserves at the Bank of England. This story was originally featured on
NDTV
3 days ago
- Business
- NDTV
Trump Sparks Debate Over Safety Of Germany's Gold In New York
Frankfurt: The safety of Germany's gold reserves held overseas and in New York in particular, until recently mainly a talking point for the country's far-right party and gold bugs, is becoming a matter of public debate with Donald Trump back in the White House. The Bundesbank, Germany's central bank, has the world's second largest stock of gold at 3,352 tonnes. One-third of it is stored at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York for reasons dating back to the Cold War and the monetary system created in the wake of World War Two. Those holdings have occasionally attracted scrutiny in the past, and the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) has embraced calls for a return of the country's gold back home. US President Donald Trump's confrontations with longstanding allies over trade and security, and his attacks on the Fed, have revived the issue in recent weeks and more mainstream voices have joined the debate. Germany's Taxpayers Federation sent letters this week to the Bundesbank and the Finance Ministry calling on them to repatriate the gold stored in the United States. "Trump wants to control the Fed, which would also mean controlling the German gold reserves in the US" Michael Jaeger, the Taxpayers Federation's vice-president, told Reuters. "It's our money, it should be brought back." Markus Ferber, an influential member of the European Parliament for Germany's ruling Christian Democrats, said the United States was "no longer the reliable partner it used to be." "Trump is erratic and one cannot rule out that someday he will come up with creative ideas how to treat foreign gold reserves," he told Reuters. "The Bundesbank's policy for gold reserves has to reflect the new geopolitical realities." Public broadcasters ZDF and ARD have also recently carried reports asking how safe Germany's gold is in New York. The Bundesbank said the New York Fed remained "an important storage location" for its gold. "We have no doubt that in the New York Fed we have a trustworthy, reliable partner for the storage of our gold holdings," the central bank said in response to a Reuters enquiry. The German Finance Ministry referred Reuters queries on the matter to the central bank, while stressing the Bundesbank's independence. Any hint that Germany might be considering moving gold out of New York would be politically sensitive as it could be interpreted as lack of confidence in the Federal Reserve and its independence. The European Central Bank last week stressed its trust in the Fed as a reliable partner. But Trump's frequent criticism of Fed chair Jerome Powell, whose term ends in a year, has fuelled some concerns about the Fed's future independence and its long-standing commitments to its partners. Peter Boehringer, the architect of the original decade-old gold campaign and now an AfD lawmaker, said he felt vindicated that the topic of repatriating gold reserves has now become a matter discussed by mainstream media and other lawmakers. "When I started asking about the gold, I was dismissed as a conspiracy theorist," he said. "Today, after Trump, my concerns are shared widely." Germany accumulated most of its gold during its 1950s-1960s export boom. A key advantage of storing some of it in New York during the Cold War was to keep it at a safe distance from Russia in case of an invasion. The gold also cemented a military alliance with the United States, which still has dozens of military bases around Germany, including Europe's largest. With the Soviet Union long gone, the Bundesbank brought back 300 tonnes of gold from New York between 2014 and 2017, saying it wanted to "build confidence at home". But Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and the implicit threat it represents for the rest of Europe, was likely to complicate Germany's geopolitical calculus again. For Ferber, this underscored the need for greater diversification across several, and potentially new, locations. Today, Germany's gold reserves are held at the Bundesbank headquarters in Frankfurt, in New York, and at the Bank of England in London. "For gold reserves, diversification is key. Having all eggs in too few baskets is never advisable," Ferber said, without specifying where the gold should be brought. Fritz Guentzler, a spokesperson for the Christian Democrats in the German parliament, said he had no reason to mistrust the Fed but the Bundesbank should continue "regularly inspecting the stocks" of gold. The Bundesbank said it ran regular sample tests and had inspected 13% of stock in New York over the years.
Free Malaysia Today
3 days ago
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
Trump spurs questions about safety of Germany's gold in New York
The Bundesbank said the New York Federal Reserve Bank remained an important storage location for its gold. (EPA Images pic) FRANKFURT : The safety of Germany's gold reserves held overseas and in New York in particular, until recently mainly a talking point for the country's far-right party and gold bugs, is becoming a matter of public debate with Donald Trump back in the White House. The Bundesbank, Germany's central bank, has the world's second largest stock of gold at 3,352 tonnes. One-third of it is stored at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York for reasons dating back to the Cold War and the monetary system created in the wake of World War Two. Those holdings have occasionally attracted scrutiny in the past, and the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) has embraced calls for a return of the country's gold back home. US President Donald Trump's confrontations with longstanding allies over trade and security, and his attacks on the Fed, have revived the issue in recent weeks and more mainstream voices have joined the debate. Germany's Taxpayers Federation sent letters this week to the Bundesbank and the finance ministry calling on them to repatriate the gold stored in the US. 'Trump wants to control the Federal Reserve (Fed), which would also mean controlling the German gold reserves in the US,' Michael Jaeger, the Taxpayers Federation's vice-president, told Reuters. 'It's our money, it should be brought back,' Jaegar said. Markus Ferber, an influential member of the European Parliament for Germany's ruling Christian Democrats, said the US was 'no longer the reliable partner it used to be'. 'Trump is erratic and one cannot rule out that someday he will come up with creative ideas how to treat foreign gold reserves,' he told Reuters. 'The Bundesbank's policy for gold reserves has to reflect the new geopolitical realities,' he added. Public broadcasters ZDF and ARD have also recently carried reports asking how safe Germany's gold is in New York. The Bundesbank said the New York Fed remained 'an important storage location' for its gold. 'We have no doubt that in the New York Fed we have a trustworthy, reliable partner for the storage of our gold holdings,' the central bank said in response to a Reuters enquiry. The German finance ministry referred Reuters queries on the matter to the central bank, while stressing the Bundesbank's independence. Any hint that Germany might be considering moving gold out of New York would be politically sensitive as it could be interpreted as lack of confidence in the Fed and its independence. The European Central Bank last week stressed its trust in the Fed as a reliable partner. However, Trump's frequent criticism of Fed chair Jerome Powell, whose term ends in a year, has fuelled some concerns about the Fed's future independence and its long-standing commitments to its partners. Peter Boehringer, the architect of the original decade-old gold campaign and now an AfD lawmaker, said he felt vindicated that the topic of repatriating gold reserves has now become a matter discussed by mainstream media and other lawmakers. 'When I started asking about the gold, I was dismissed as a conspiracy theorist. 'Today, after Trump, my concerns are shared widely,' he said. Germany accumulated most of its gold during its 1950s-1960s export boom. A key advantage of storing some of it in New York during the Cold War was to keep it at a safe distance from Russia in case of an invasion. The gold also cemented a military alliance with the US, which still has dozens of military bases around Germany, including Europe's largest. With the Soviet Union long gone, the Bundesbank brought back 300 tonnes of gold from New York between 2014 and 2017, saying it wanted to 'build confidence at home'. However, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and the implicit threat it represents for the rest of Europe, was likely to complicate Germany's geopolitical calculus again. For Ferber, this underscored the need for greater diversification across several, and potentially new, locations. Today, Germany's gold reserves are held at the Bundesbank headquarters in Frankfurt, in New York, and at the Bank of England in London. 'For gold reserves, diversification is key. Having all eggs in too few baskets is never advisable,' Ferber said, without specifying where the gold should be brought. Fritz Guentzler, a spokesman for the Christian Democrats in the German parliament, said he had no reason to mistrust the Fed but the Bundesbank should continue 'regularly inspecting the stocks' of gold. The Bundesbank said it ran regular sample tests and had inspected 13% of stock in New York over the years.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Germany updates: Climate change doubled extreme heat days
Climate change doubled extreme heat days in Germany in the past year, according to a new report Inflation in May expected to remain around 2% Volkswagen has offered to invest in the US, in direct negotiations with the US government Here are the latest news stories from Germany on May 30, 2025: Moin, thank you for joining us today as we bring you the latest news and outlooks from Germany. Coming up, we are expecting positive news on the German inflation rate which the German central bank, the Bundesbank, has predicted will fluctuate around the 2% mark in the next few months. A climate protest is also planned to take place in Berlin. Following the dissolution of the Letzte Generation ("last generation") protest group, a new climate activist movement — the Neue Generation ("new generation") — is kicking off a week of protest in the German capital. Follow along for all this and more.
