UK gold shortage as £66bn moved out of London

A surge in gold shipments to the has led to a shortage in , according to reports.

Traders have amassed an almost £66bn stockpile in New York in recent weeks amid concerns over tariffs by the administration, the .

The report states the wait to withdraw bullion stored in the Bank of England’s vaults has risen significantly from a few days to up to eight weeks, according to people familiar with the process.

The bank is said to be struggling to keep up with the demand.

One industry executive told the FT: “People can’t get their hands on gold because so much has been shipped to New York, and the rest is stuck in the queue.

“Liquidity in the London market has been diminished.”

Since the in November, 393 metric tonnes have reportedly been moved into the vaults of the Comex commodity exchange in New York, driving its inventory levels up nearly 75% to 926 tonnes—the highest in more than two years.

Trump, , said he wants to introduce several tariffs while in the White House.

According to the Financial Times, traders say the gold shipments are intended to avoid any potential tariffs – although has not specifically mentioned a duty on gold.

The President spoke about tariffs on Monday, saying: “We are going to look at pharmaceuticals, drugs, we are going to look at chips, semiconductors, and we are going to look at steel and some other industries, and you are going to see things happening.

“The only way to get out of this is to build your plant — if you want to stop paying taxes or tariffs, build here in America.”

He said aluminium and copper could also be targeted. On Sunday, Colombia’s President caved in and allowed US deportation flights to land just hours after .

The FT reported that gold shipments to the US are also due to higher prices on the futures exchange in New York than in London’s cash market.