Germany and Italy Face Mounting Pressure to Repatriate Their Gold

Germany and Italy are facing increasing pressure to repatriate their gold reserves from New York, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.

Germany and Italy hold the world’s second- and third-largest national gold reserves after the United States. Over one third of those reserves are held in the New York Federal Reserve in Manhattan.

Their combined gold reserves stored in the U.S. have a market value of over $245 billion, according to the Financial Times.

Turmoil: President Donald Trump has become increasingly critical of the Federal Reserve and its chairman, Jerome Powell, threatening to intervene if the central bank does not soon reduce interest rates.

With conflicts raging globally, uncertainty surrounding President Trump’s foreign policy, and intensifying debate surrounding the Federal Reserve, officials in Germany and Italy consider their gold reserves to be in jeopardy.

Restraining: Why does the U.S. store a large portion of Germany’s and Italy’s gold reserves? The goal since World War ii has been to restrain Europe from provoking another war.

If America loses what is left of its insurance policy against European aggression, Europe could revitalize its economies into something far more powerful than America could counter.

Learn more: Read “Germany Is Taking Back Gold From the United States.”