--- title: "Due to relatively delayed deliveries, the Bank of England is selling gold at a discount" description: "Due to market concerns that the United States may impose new tariffs, global traders are eager to ship gold to the U.S., resulting in a discount on the gold price in the Bank of England's vault, which" type: "news" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/227275062.md" published_at: "2025-02-05T22:25:03.000Z" --- # Due to relatively delayed deliveries, the Bank of England is selling gold at a discount > Due to market concerns that the United States may impose new tariffs, global traders are eager to ship gold to the U.S., resulting in a discount on the gold price in the Bank of England's vault, which is more than $5 below the London spot gold price, with withdrawal waiting times extended to several weeks. This phenomenon is rare, mainly because traders hope to obtain a higher premium before the tariffs are implemented. The surge in demand for gold withdrawals from the Bank of England has led to a decrease in its gold's attractiveness in the market According to the Zhitong Finance APP, recently, due to market concerns about a new round of tariffs that U.S. President Trump may impose, global traders are rushing to ship gold to the United States. This surge in demand has led to a discount on the gold prices in the Bank of England (BOE) vault, with waiting times for gold withdrawals extending to several weeks. Insiders have revealed that the gold in the Bank of England vault is currently priced more than $5 below the London spot gold price, a level of price discrepancy that is extremely rare. Typically, the gold prices stored by the BOE should align with those of other major vaults in the London market, such as JP Morgan and HSBC. Traders have noted that past fluctuations in gold prices influenced by central bank trading activities usually do not exceed a few cents per ounce. The primary reason for this anomaly is that global traders are eager to transport gold to the United States before the tariffs are implemented to secure higher premiums. Although Trump has not yet imposed tariffs specifically on precious metals, traders are concerned that gold may fall under the broad tariffs he has threatened to impose. In light of this urgent situation, staff at the Bank of England are struggling to cope with the surge in gold withdrawal requests, and the increased waiting times have made the gold in its vault less attractive compared to that in other commercial vaults in London, such as JP Morgan and HSBC. The Bank of England holds over 400,000 gold bars, with a total value exceeding $450 billion, most of which belongs to various central banks, with a small portion held by major gold traders. However, according to data from the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), the total gold reserves in the London market exceed 8,000 tons, a significant amount of which is held by ETFs, central banks, and long-term investors, and has not entered the circulating market. Due to market concerns about tariffs, gold prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange have been significantly higher than international benchmark prices over the past few months. Previously, traders sold gold futures at high prices, but now they need to purchase gold on the spot market to fulfill delivery obligations, leading to tight supplies of circulating gold in the London market. This tension is particularly evident in the gold leasing market: one-month gold leasing rates have surged to 4.7%, far above the typically near-zero rates. This means that investors holding gold can achieve higher returns, attracting some central banks to borrow gold through the Bank of England to earn additional income. The forward price of gold is lower than the spot price (known as backwardation), a phenomenon that is extremely rare in the gold market, indicating market concerns about a short-term gold shortage. Some central banks typically borrow gold through the Bank of England when interest rates rise, thus becoming an important source of liquidity during market tightness. However, this situation is unique; due to the surge in gold demand, the Bank of England has been unable to process a large number of withdrawal requests in a timely manner, leading to a mismatch in supply and demand in the market. Former JP Morgan precious metals trader Robert Gottlieb pointed out that the delays at the Bank of England are primarily due to a large number of gold traders borrowing from the central bank, but the BOE itself is not a commercial vault and lacks efficient commercial operational capabilities, ultimately creating a "bottleneck." ![2.png](https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://img.zhitongcaijing.com/image/20250206/1738791795498981.png?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg) Another issue is that the 400-ounce gold bars traded in London cannot be directly delivered to New York; traders must first refine them into 100-ounce or kilogram gold bars in places like Switzerland before airlifting them to the United States, which further drives up the gold premium. At one point, the gold premium reached as high as $50 per ounce, making arbitrage trading exceptionally lucrative. This is not the first time that withdrawal delays have occurred at the Bank of England's vault. John Reade, senior market strategist at the World Gold Council, stated, "Some investors may begin to regret choosing the Bank of England to store their gold and may reconsider whether to store gold in more easily accessible commercial vaults in the future, despite the higher costs." The London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) has indicated that it is aware of the "market dynamics triggered by U.S. tariffs" and is closely communicating with market infrastructure providers, industry associations, and regulatory agencies to clarify the potential impact of tariff policies on the market ### Related Stocks - [GLD.US - SPDR Gold Shares](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GLD.US.md) - [DJT.US - Trump Media & Tech](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/DJT.US.md) - [JPM.US - JPMorgan Chase](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/JPM.US.md) - [02666.HK - UNI MEDICAL](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/02666.HK.md) - [01601.HK - ZGC TEC LEASING](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/01601.HK.md) - [PHUN.US - Phunware](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/PHUN.US.md) - [DJTWW.US - Trump Media & Tech - CW28](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/DJTWW.US.md) - [00217.HK - CHINA CHENGTONG](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/00217.HK.md) - [00005.HK - HSBC HOLDINGS](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/00005.HK.md) - [01606.HK - CDB LEASING](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/01606.HK.md) ## Related News & Research | Title | Description | URL | |-------|-------------|-----| | 达利欧家办重仓黄金！彻底退出桥水后首曝美股持仓，规模升至 5 亿美元 | 达利欧家族办公室自疫情以来首次披露美国股票投资情况。截至去年年底，其在美股市场持仓约 5.03 亿美元，较 2021 年初增长约三分之一。其中超过四分之三资金配置在黄金 ETF，其余分散布局美债及标普 500 指数等资产。分析称，这一举动显 | [Link](https://longbridge.com/en/news/276472669.md) | | 加拿大的 Alamos Gold 第四季度收入略超预期 | Alamos Gold 第四季度的收入略微超过分析师预期，达到 5.753 亿美元，并宣布季度股息增长 60%。尽管由于严冬天气导致产量下降，公司仍实现了 3.52 亿美元的创纪录自由现金流。展望未来，Alamos 预计 2026 年的全面 | [Link](https://longbridge.com/en/news/276279347.md) | | 沃尔玛四季度财报超预期但盈利指引不及预期，CEO 称 “美国低收入家庭只能勉强维持生计” | 沃尔玛 Q4 营收超预期，新财年盈利指引（每股 2.75-2.85 美元）远低于市场预期的 2.96 美元，显示通胀压力下消费者支出不确定性犹存，拖累股价下跌 1.38%。财报印证 K 型” 分化：高收入家庭驱动增长，低收入群体 “钱包吃紧 | [Link](https://longbridge.com/en/news/276398633.md) | | 谷歌突然发布 Gemini 3.1 Pro：核心推理性能直接翻倍 | 谷歌发布了最新的大模型 Gemini 3.1 Pro，其推理性能较去年发布的 Gemini 3 Pro 翻倍。在 ARC-AGI-2 评测中，Gemini 3.1 Pro 得分 77.1%，显示出强大的推理能力。新模型支持多源数据综合和复杂 | [Link](https://longbridge.com/en/news/276396515.md) | | 学习英伟达刺激芯片销售，AMD 为 “AI 云” 借款做担保 | AMD 为扩大市场份额祭出金融 “狠招”！为初创公司 Crusoe 的 3 亿美元购芯贷款提供担保，承诺在其无客户时 “兜底” 租用芯片。这一复刻英伟达 “租卡云” 路径的策略虽能短期推高销量，但也令 AMD 在 AI 需求放缓时面临更大的 | [Link](https://longbridge.com/en/news/276401504.md) | --- > **Disclaimer**: This article is for reference only and does not constitute any investment advice.