Germany fears for gold stashed in US

The safety of Germany’s gold reserves held overseas and in New York in particular, until recently mainly a talking point for the country’s far-right party and gold bugs, is becoming a matter of public debate with Donald Trump back in the White House.

- FRANCESCO CANEPA MARIA MARTINEZ JOHN O’DONNELL

The Bundesbank, Germany's central bank, has the world’s second largest stock of gold at 3,352 tonnes. One-third of it is stored at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York for reasons dating back to the Cold War and the monetary system created in the wake of World War II.

Those holdings have occasionally attracted scrutiny in the past, and the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) has embraced calls for a return of the country’s gold back home.

US President Donald Trump's confrontations with longstanding allies over trade and security, and his attacks on the Fed, have revived the issue in recent weeks and more mainstream voices have joined the debate.

Germany's Taxpayers Federation sent letters this week to the Bundesbank and the Finance Ministry calling on them to repatriate the gold stored in the United States.

“Trump wants to control the Fed, which would also mean controlling the German gold reserves in the US,” Michael Jaeger, the Taxpayers Federation’s vice-president, told Reuters. “It's our money, it should be brought back.”

Markus Ferber, an influential member of the European Parliament for Germany's ruling Christian Democrats, said the United States was “no longer the reliable partner it used to be”