When a central bank holds gold, the question is not just how many tonnes it owns. It also matters where those tonnes are held and how easily the bank can access or trade them when needed.
Singapore is now making a move into that part of the market.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore plans to offer gold custody services to foreign central banks and sovereign institutions from October 2026. Singapore Exchange (SGX) is also developing a system to clear over-the-counter trades in gold held in Singapore, known as “Loco Singapore” gold. That system is expected to launch by the end of 2026.
What interests us is that Singapore is trying to offer more than another vault. It wants to connect physical storage with the infrastructure to trade and settle gold transactions during Asian market hours.
For reserve holders, that distinction matters. A gold bar in a vault can serve as a long-term reserve. But if it is held somewhere with an active market and reliable settlement, it may also be easier to sell or move when needed.
We recently saw a similar line of thinking in Europe. The Dutch central bank moved some of its gold from North America to London, citing better tradability in a crisis as one reason. It was not announcing a new gold purchase. It was deciding where its existing gold should be accessible.
Singapore is now trying to offer a similar combination of secure custody and market access in Asia.
London has a deep market and a network of participants built over decades. Singapore’s custody service has yet to begin, and its new clearing system still has to prove that banks and other institutions will actually use it.
Opening vaults to foreign central banks does not, by itself, mean those banks will buy more gold. They may simply move metal they already own to Singapore. For the gold price, that is very different from new demand.
Still, we see a shift worth watching. The central-bank conversation is no longer only about the size of gold reserves. It is increasingly about where the gold sits, who can access it, and how readily it can be traded when it matters.
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