Dhanteras gold rush: RBI transports 102 tons of gold from Bank of England to India

The desire to add gold to their lockers is not limited to Indian homes during Dhanteras. The Reserve Bank of India stated that it had transported an additional 102 tons of gold from the London vaults of the Bank of England to safe locations around the nation.

According to the most recent report on the management of foreign exchange reserves, 510.5 tons of the 855 tons of yellow metal that the Indian central bank owned at the end of Sep were held domestically.

Since Sep 2022, 214 tons have entered the nation as the government and RBI sought to protect their holdings in the face of increased geopolitical unrest worldwide. Many believe that keeping gold at home is safer.

A leading news agency reported on May 31 that 100 tons were being transported from the UK, with a comparable amount scheduled to be sent again.

Since gold flowed out in the early 1990s after the government was compelled to guarantee it due to a balance of payments issue, this movement marks the first notable change.

Aware that this information should not be revealed, the RBI and the government, as in the previous case, carried out a covert operation requiring specialized planes and meticulous security measures to transfer the gold.

Additionally, the shipments need to be exempt from taxation. Although large shipments are unlikely this year, authorities are not ruling out further movement.

Currently, the Bank of England and the Bank for International Settlements, which both retain the majority of the precious metal in the United Kingdom, hold 324 tons in safe custody. The RBI holds somewhat more than 20 tons of gold deposits.

The Bank of England is the second-largest gold custodian after the New York Federal Reserve and offers safe custody for the gold holdings of the United Kingdom and other central banks.

About 4 lakh gold bars are kept in the "bullion warehouse," which was first constructed in 1697 and later enlarged to handle the gold rush from Brazil to Australia and from California to South Africa.

These vaults held approximately 5,350 tons, or about 17 crore fine troys of yellow metal, at the beginning of September.

One of the main benefits of keeping gold with the Bank of England is the quick liquidity provided by access to the London bullion market.

Furthermore, according to RBI data, the RBI has expanded its gold holdings, which at the end of Sep represented 9.3% of India's foreign exchange reserves, up from 8.1% at the end of March.