US Bullion Banks Reap $500 Million in Profits From US Repatriation
The tariff panic in early 2025 produced one of the most profitable quarters in recent years for U.S. precious metals desks.
Gold Arbitrage and U.S. Bank Profits Amid Tariff Panic
Q1 2025: Arbitrage Drives Precious Metals Revenue
U.S. banks posted strong gains in precious metals trading during the first quarter of 2025. Traders at JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley collectively generated $500 million in revenue, according to data from Crisil Coalition Greenwich. According to Bloomberg, this figure marks the second-highest quarterly total in a decade and nearly double the average over that period.
The performance was aided by an arbitrage opportunity that emerged in response to tariff concerns linked to the Trump administration’s trade policy. Fear that gold and silver imports might face tariffs led to a surge in physical metal deliveries to U.S. exchanges.
Arbitrage Opportunity: COMEX Premium Over Global Benchmarks
Gold and silver prices on the COMEX exchange in New York traded at a premium to international benchmarks in London, Switzerland, and Hong Kong during Q1 2025. Traders responded by buying metal abroad and shipping it to the U.S. to take advantage of the price differential.
This pattern mirrored conditions observed in 2020, when pandemic-related disruptions in global transport also created sustained arbitrage opportunities for banks able to deliver physical metal to New York.