Why banks are flying gold bars on commercial flights from London to NYC

Fox Business ^ | 2/21/25 | Eric Revell

[Libloather]

President Donald Trump's tariff plans have prompted some of the largest banks in the U.S. and Britain to fly gold bars from London to New York City on commercial flights.

Trump's plans to impose tariffs on U.S. trading partners – including a reciprocal tariff regime that's expected to be formalized by early April and tariffs on the European Union he hasn't yet detailed – have spurred banks to relocate their gold reserves.

That move has been driven by a price differential between gold sold in London and New York – The Wall Street Journal reported last week that the prices of gold per troy ounce have been roughly $20 lower in London since early December. London is the main trading location for the physical gold market, while New York is a hub for futures contracts.

Due to the disparity, moving the gold from London to New York can help banks cover what would otherwise have been money-losing trades on gold futures by flying the gold across the Atlantic, allowing them to at least pare their losses or make more money by locking in new futures contracts.

JPMorgan Chase and HSBC are two major players in the market for physical gold and have looked to capitalize on the opportunity, the Journal reported.

The amount of gold being flown across the Atlantic on commercial airliners is significant – JPMorgan said in a filing with CME Group's Comex that it plans to move about $4 billion in gold from London to New York in February.

[Libloather]

I've got some storage room if they need it.

[Psalm 73]

Gold being stored in CONUS is a good thing, no matter who actually owns it.

[Rio]

I had never seen this:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_tariff_rate

[Biblebelter]

There is more to this story.

Guess I’ll have to wait for The Bee to fill in the details.

[PGR88]

Gotta have all our gold back before it gets audited.

[delta7]

The tariff excuse is pure BS. Most likely reason is the Comex is trying to avoid default….but nothing makes perfect sense. The Comex has had historic deliveries being made, and their Gold must be “ good delivery bars”.

Some really Big, HUGE entity is taking delivery, big $$$. Comex deals in paper contracts and was not prepared for all the physical deliveries ,or, .Gov is repatriating Gold in a hurry.

Financial greats like Grandrich, Schiff, Holter, MacLeod, etc ALL agree, something really huge and historic is happening.

GATA.org has been covering gold for two decades. A must read site:

http://gata.org/

A non-profit organization.

[Colorado Doug]

Because they are too heavy to swim to New York with?

[C210N]

Agreed, the tariff crap is a cover story.

Another real possibility, besides the COMEX issue you site, is anticipation of a Trump/RonPaul Ft. Knox Audit. The flights to NYC would be followed by over-land shipments to Kentucky, to fill the currently empty Ft Knox vaults for the audit.

And, then once we hear that Ft Knox “has the gold”, Trump/Paul continue with the audit, and uncover the massive fraud of hypothication, re-hypotication, re-re-re-etc-hypothication, blowing the lid off paper gold.

[C210N]

Gold being stored in CONUS is a good thing, no matter who actually owns it.

Until we find out that "everybody" owns it... that is there are 200 owners that "own" the same gold bar. Who gets it? One "owner" does, and the others get hosed .

[Pikachu_Dad]

Your suggesting a ‘pass the baby’ scandal?

After Katrina money was given out. Some families were busted passing a baby so the credit for the any could be obtained twice.

[Psalm 73]

I guess "possession is 9/10s of the law" which is why I would only hold physical precious metals.

Unless one really thinks William Devane has your personal bars in a cubby with your name on it.

[C210N]

If you don’t hold it you don’t own it.

That goes for gold stocks too.

[Jonty30]

I agree. Give me your gold and I will hold onto it for you.

[grey_whiskers]

Any guesses why the CEO of JP Morgan, Jaime Domon, just sold over $200 million of stock options?

[Secret Agent Man]

Hmmm

I figured it was deep state trying to cover the upcoming Fort Knox audit.

[frank ballenger]

See? All stuff about people not being kind and caring to each other was wrong. That sounds swell.

[frank ballenger]

Gold paint on plaster is starting to crack and chip.
A few scattered genuine gold bars are needed.

[grey_whiskers]

Man, I hate the typos on my phone. Dimon.

[chud]

For several years now, countries have been repatriating their gold from London and New York back to their own shores.
There are probably multiple paper claims on each gold bar that has left London and New York.
When that web of paper claims starts unwinding...look out.

[CFW]

Gold fell below $2,950 per ounce on Tuesday but remained near an all-time high, buoyed by safe-have flows due to concerns over U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff policies. Trump on Monday said that tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports would proceed as planned, prompting markets to price in inflationary risks that could influence the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy.

Also supporting the precious metal, SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold-backed ETF, reported its holdings rose to 904.38 tonnes on Friday, the highest since August 2023.