In a subterranean vault deep under the streets of the City of London, a small team is rushing to keep up with traders’ orders to move their bullion to New York.

Bank of England policymakers do not have a consensus about how fast the central bank should cut interest rates, even though they all agreed to use the word "gradual", Monetary Policy Committee member Swati Dhingra said on Monday.

The current flood of gold shipments has created bottlenecks in London with the Bank of England struggling to keep up with withdrawal requests. Traders seeking to retrieve gold have, in turn, faced lengthy delays, prompting anxious calls to central bank officials.

British home prices will rise faster than previously expected this year, but the increase will be outpaced by surging rental costs as demand outstrips supply, a Reuters poll found.

Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee member Swati Dhingra has been reappointed to her role as an external member of the central bank's rate-setting body for a second three-year term, the British government said on Monday.

The US bank JPMorgan and the UK’s HSBC are reportedly shifting gold bars from London to New York. About 8,000 gold bars are estimated to have been removed from the Bank of England’s vaults over the past few months.

Inflation in the U.K. rose to a 10-month high in January, an increase that will likely diminish expectations of rapid interest rate reductions from the Bank of England

Adrian Ash, director of research at BullionVault, said there was a “shortage in London’s bullion market, but it’s a shortage of manpower and trucks”. “Longer-term however, the Bank of England’s role as a custody for foreign central banks ...

The gold rush is largely driven by Trump's tariff threats, which have caused gold prices in London to drop by around $20 since December.

The Bank of England holds bullion for the UK Treasury, financial institutions, and other central banks. Premiums and discounts on gold are generally not more than a few cents per ounce.