[petesergeant]

No, they could sell the gold in the US to purchase gold that’s already physically closer for a slight premium. Possibly that ends up being cheaper than actual transport.

[djtango]

In December there was a large movement of physical gold from London to New York as banks closed their EFP arbs. This was enough to put a lot of pressure on the market.

I imagine if Germany did that with their reserves a similar effect would come about.

[petesergeant]

The question is if it screws the market prices more than the cost of lifting and shifting the gold themselves, which presumably would not be cheap.