After months of pouring into the US to defend against President Donald Trump's tax policies, gold is starting to leavecomex warehouses in the US, returning to Switzerland - which is considered the "heart" of the global gold refining and transit industry.
Reuters reported that since December last year, gold traders around the world have been rushing to transport gold to New York to cope with the risk of the US imposing widespread tariffs on precious metals.
However, as the Washington administration officially removed gold, silver and platinum from the tax list two weeks ago, the import wave has rapidly cooled down and begun to reverse.
Swiss customs data released on April 17 showed that US gold imports into Switzerland in March surged to 25.5 tons, the highest level in 13 months, compared to 12.1 tons in the previous month. In contrast, Swiss gold exports to the US fell sharply by 32% to 103.2 tons.
Data from comex (under CME Group) - the largest gold storage center in the US - shows that gold reserves have fallen for 8 consecutive days, the first time in 14 months.
Since the peak on April 4 (45.1 million ounces), the amount of gold in the warehouse has decreased by 1.5 million ounces, equivalent to 4.8 billion USD, to 43.6 million ounces (about 1,357 tons).
It is noteworthy that the wave of gold imports into the US surged immediately after Donald Trump was re-elected in November 2024, pushing the amount of gold reserves here from 17.1 million ounces to a record level.
From December 2024 to March 2025, Comex warehouses received gold, silver and platinum worth more than 80 billion USD, causing Swiss logistics companies and refineries to operate at full capacity.
But now, as the tax fever has cooled down, the role of the US as a safe haven for gold has temporarily weakened, and the supply chain is gradually returning to normal, with Switzerland as the main transit point.
A source from a gold refinery in Switzerland revealed that part of the recalled gold from the US is being transported to Switzerland, which has been the world's largest gold transit and refining hub.
In fact, while the global financial market is still fluctuating, the transportation, refining and reallocation of gold flows are bringing great opportunities for logistics companies, gold processing plants and commercial banks to participate in this activity.
This is a great time to work in the logistics and gold refining industry, Ross Norman emphasized.
With the recovery of the global gold supply chain, Switzerland's key role has once again been reaffirmed - not only as a safe destination, but also the starting and end of the transcontinental gold journey.
The world gold price as of 7:20 am on April 18 was trading at 3,329 USD/ounce.
According to Goldman Sachs' gold price forecast, world gold prices could increase to 3,650 - 3,950 USD/ounce, even up to 4,500 USD/ounce if there is an economic recession.
