Central banks expect to swap out more of their U.S. dollar reserves for gold as greenback’s safe-haven status weakens

One kilo gold bricks in the vault of the pro aurum Goldhaus on February 19, 2013 in Munich. (Credit: Ulrich Baumgarten—Getty Images)

• Central banks from the Global South are actively shifting their own reserves toward gold at a much faster rate than advanced economies to reduce their exposure to the U.S. dollar amid growing trade protectionism, according to a survey by the World Gold Council. “The recent market developments around tariffs have raised questions on the safe-haven status of USD/UST, but have bolstered that of gold,” one response read.

Roughly every second central bank in the Global South plans to expand its own gold reserves over the coming 12 months, new data shows, and the currency most likely to pay the price for the shift is the U.S. dollar.