Germany issues a warning about its gold reserves to the US at Fort Knoxx: “You must personally count the bullion.”

Germany holds one of the largest gold reserves in the world, approximately 1,236 tons of gold, valued at $115 billion, stored in the vaults of the U.S. Federal Reserve in New York. Given the current economic situation and rising tensions with the United States, top German politicians are beginning to question whether their gold is truly safe on American soil.

Politicians express doubts over gold security

Some politicians have openly stated they don’t feel confident that Germany’s gold reserves are adequately protected in the U.S. Outgoing CDU politician Marco Wanderwitz has suggested that the German government needs to play a more independent role in managing its national assets, especially its gold.

Meanwhile, CSU Member of the European Parliament Markus Ferber is calling for greater oversight of the German gold held in the U.S. “Official representatives of the Bundesbank should physically count the gold bars themselves and document the results,” he said.

In this regard, Björn Brey, a researcher at the Norwegian School of Economics who was raised in Germany, argues that relying entirely on the U.S. to safeguard all of Germany’s gold poses excessive risk: “The U.S. Federal Reserve is independent of the political administration and has proven to be a stable institution.

However, I believe it would be wiser for Germany to gradually sell some of its gold, especially now that gold prices are high,” he stated. He also pointed out that Norway sold its gold in 2003 for strategic reasons, using the funds to strengthen the foreign currency reserves of the Norges Bank.

German Central Bank governor dismisses concerns

Joachim Nagel, governor of the German Central Bank, has downplayed all concerns regarding the safety of German gold in the U.S.: “We have a trusted partner in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to store our gold reserves. It doesn’t keep me up at night. I have complete confidence in our colleagues at the U.S. Federal Reserve,” he said.

Back in 2013, Germany repatriated all of its gold that had been stored in France, following pressure from populist parties. As a result, more than half of Germany’s gold reserves are now stored in Frankfurt.