London-Saba:
The British newspaper The Telegraph reported that several thousand gold bullion were withdrawn from the Bank of England's vaults during the past two months against the backdrop of recent tensions in international relations.
The newspaper stated that: "Thousands of gold bullion have been withdrawn from the Bank of England's vaults since late last year amid concerns about the impact of the trade war waged by US President Donald Trump."
The newspaper quoted data from the aforementioned bank, stating that about eight thousand gold bullion were removed from the bank's warehouses during the past two months, which represents about 2% of the total stock kept there.
The bank’s deputy governor, Dave Ramsden, told the newspaper that this was because prices in the New York futures market had risen above the spot market price in London, and traders were concerned about the possibility of Trump imposing tariffs on the entry of gold bullion.
However, Ramsden stressed, the bank will meet all its obligations, despite possible delays due to the transportation of gold bullion abroad.
He added: “It is a very organized process. It is worth emphasizing that compared to some of the markets that we usually talk about, gold is a tangible physical asset, so there are real logistical and security constraints.”
Previous reports had indicated that the United States increased its gold imports sharply in November of last year: almost double the average monthly value for the previous ten months.
Imports also nearly doubled on a monthly and annual basis, reaching $2.16 billion.
Thus, purchases of this precious metal in November became the highest since June 2021, exceeding the $2 billion mark for the first time during this period. Days ago, Citigroup analysts predicted that gold prices could rise to $3,000 per ounce in the next three months due to the instability caused by US President Donald Trump’s statements.
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