U.S. Gold Stockpiles Hit Record

A record amount of gold was stored in private U.S. vaults in early March to support the precious metals futures market as a result of frantic shipments from overseas designed to avoid possible tariffs on gold. Inventories at warehouses approved by the COMEX futures market stood at nearly 40 million ounces of gold, the greatest amount since The Commodity Exchange began keeping records in 1992. Worth approximately $115 billion, the gold hoard was more than double its size in early December.

Brinks, HSBC, and JP Morgan Chase operate the largest private COMEX-approved vaults for gold storage, which are located in New York and Delaware.

Typically, London is a preferred location for financial institutions to safeguard their gold. Not only is it less expensive than New York for vaulting, but it’s also a major trading center for physical gold. But, as the possibility of tariffs became apparent, major holders chose to move bullion to the U.S. to avoid levies.

At the same time, gold futures prices soared in New York, reaching $50 an ounce above the London price—well above the average spread of about $13 an ounce between the two markets. That accelerated the flow of gold into the U.S., as traders tried to profit from the price difference.

Normally, secure warehouses in the U.S. hold just about 20 percent of the value of gold in outstanding COMEX contracts—known as open interest, as positions are often rolled over to the future or settled in cash. But in early March the amount of vaulted gold in the U.S. was equal to 80 percent of open interest.

The prior record stockpile in COMEX-approved vaults was reached in February of 2021, when major investors accumulated gold as a safe haven during the COVID-19 pandemic.