According to the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), gold held in London vaults rose slightly by 0.1% to 8,488 metric tons at the end of March. That modest increase contrasts with earlier months when large volumes of gold moved from London to New York. The change followed the U.S. government’s decision to exempt gold from broader import tariffs, which reduced the premium of Comex gold futures versus London spot prices.
From December through March, market participants shifted sizable gold supplies to the United States to cover positions on the Comex amid concern over tariffs that had been threatened by the U.S. administration on imports from Canada and Mexico. Those flows helped push Comex gold inventories to record levels, contributing to an $80 billion rise in holdings since late November. The outflow from London — the world’s largest over-the-counter gold trading center — strained liquidity in the London market and prompted bullion dealers to borrow metal from central bank stocks stored at the Bank of England.
By late March, pressure on London’s physical market eased: the wait time to withdraw gold from the Bank of England improved to roughly two to three weeks, down from four to six weeks in January, and gold lease rates began returning toward normal. Silver inventories in London fell 1.5% in March, a smaller decline than the 4.5% drop observed in February.