FX.co ★ Gold seen as sole safe haven amid geopolitical risk and US account freezes

Gold is becoming a key reserve asset as confidence in the dollar falters, and rising demand for the metal has been driven by the freezing of Russian assets, bestselling author Nassim Taleb said at a forum in Greenwich, Bloomberg reports. The economist argued that actions by US authorities and the seizure of accounts linked to Moscow have undermined trust in the US currency, forcing countries to rethink their composition of foreign reserves.

Taleb stressed that states are boosting gold holdings to avoid having funds seized in the future. He said there is no real alternative to gold among other assets. The Chinese yuan is not yet able to replace the US dollar because global business remains habituated to dollar‑denominated transactions. Moreover, a switch to the yuan may provoke a response from Washington. Thus, physical bullion remains the only reliable hedge against external pressure.

In early October, the market price of gold dipped below $4,150 an ounce amid the Federal Reserve’s tight monetary policy. High interest rates temporarily strengthened the dollar, but experts view the pullback as short-lived. Long‑term interest in gold persists because geopolitical uncertainty and the risk of asset freezes are pushing central banks to buy neutral assets.