2,437 tons of gold all coming home! France took advantage of the gold price at $5,500 per ounce to clear its last 129 tons in the U.S.

From July 2025 to January 2026, the French central bank sold all 129 tons of gold stored at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York through 26 transactions, while buying an equivalent amount of new gold bars that meet international standards in the European market, and shipped them back to Paris.
After the operation, France's gold reserves remained at 2,437 tons, unchanged in the global ranking as the fourth largest, but all the gold was back in its own vaults.
The timing of this transaction was very precise. From the second half of 2025 to early 2026, international gold prices surged from less than $4,000 per ounce to $5,500. The French central bank sold old gold at high prices and bought new gold during the pullback, netting a profit of 12.8 billion euros, directly covering the 2.9 billion euros loss in the 2025 fiscal year.
French Central Bank Governor Villeroy explained that this was purely a technical operation. The gold bars in New York were relics from the 1950s and 1960s, with purity and specifications that did not meet standards, so they were replaced with newer, more convenient ones. $XAU
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