GOLD TOPS $4,000 MILESTONE
weaker dollar helping to tilt Western flows back into gold.
IS THE U.S. DOLLAR IN CROSSHAIRS? Some of it is — and some of it is simply prudent diversification. A U.S. Federal Reserve research
paper looked at 2001–2023 and found that while several central banks increased gold, the move often coin- cided with — rather than caused — changes in foreign exchange (FX) reserve composition. In other words, gold buying doesn’t automatically mean a wholesale aban- donment of dollars; it can be a hedg- ing overlay. Still, the optics matter. When large
emerging market central banks add tons of bullion and trim their U.S. Treasury holdings at the margin, it signals a desire to reduce vulnerability to financial sanctions, and to interest rate and currency swings. The IMF’s own accounting shows
the market value of official gold hold- ings jumped almost 30% in 2024, lift- ing gold’s weight inside global reserves even without every central bank changing strategy. First, expect a tug-of-war on yields. If fewer foreign reserve managers recy- cle surpluses into Treasurys, incre- mental demand for U.S. debt softens at the margin, potentially nudging long-term rates up — especially during heavy issuance. That can tighten financial conditions
and weigh on rate-sensitive sectors. The effect is gradual, though:
Even after the recent shifts, the dol- lar remains the dominant reserve and invoicing currency, and U.S. markets remain the deepest and most liquid.
Gold prices reached a record on Oct. 7, with the precious metal topping $4,000 an ounce. Analysts say investors are turning to gold amid unease about the U.S. economy and political stability.
$4K
$3.5K $3K
$2.5K $2K
$1.5K $1K
$500 0
2023 2024 2025 SOURCE: FactSet
REAL ASSETS SURGE AS TRUST SHIFTS AWAY FROM FIAT
Over the past 52 weeks, Bitcoin and gold have delivered standout gains, far outpacing stocks, while bonds and the dollar have fallen, a sign of deepening demand for stores of value.
52-Week Asset
Bitcoin Gold
S&P 500 Treasury Bond
Ticker IBIT GLD SPY TLT
U.S. Dollar Index DXY
Performance (%) 58.92% 56.45% 14.09% –2.77 % –5.04 %
SOURCE: TIPP Insights
GOLD IS MOST POPULAR, BUT STOCKS LEAD FOR INVESTORS
Overall Investors Non-Investors In Percentage
Gold/Silver Stocks
Real Estate Crypto Bonds
22% 19% 17% 14%
23% 31%
23% 20% 6%10% 4% SOURCE: TIPP Poll
We’re 90 Times Richer than Before U
.S. gold reserves have surpassed $1 trillion in value — more than 90 times the $11 billion figure stated on the
government’s balance sheet, thanks to gold’s soaring price. The U.S. Treasury holds the world’s largest stockpile — about 261.5 million ounces — locked away in vaults at Fort Knox, West Point, Denver, and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
12% 17%
23% 14%
$4k
Second, watch the policy channel. The more gold is accumulated as a geopolitical hedge, the less sensitive global capital may be to traditional “safe haven” signals from the dollar during shocks. That can dull one of Washington’s advantages. Goldman has even mused about
tail-risk scenarios where institutional trust issues in the U.S. could turbo- charge bullion toward $5,000; while that’s not a base case, it captures how political or fiscal concerns can spill into metals. Third, consider inflation expec-
tations. Persistent official sector demand for gold — especially if joined by renewed ETF inflows — can rein- force the narrative that hard assets are attractive hedges, complicating the Fed’s job if expectations drift. HSBC has cautioned that a stronger
dollar could cap gold later in 2025, but the bank still sees elevated price decks relative to recent history — again, a nod to durable official sector support. Gold isn’t at $5,000 — at least not
yet — but it is at historic highs, and the bid is coming from the very institutions that set the tone in global finance. China sits at the center of that
story, both in its official disclosures and in the harder-to-measure flows visible in trade and market data. Whether you call it de-dollariza-
tion or diversification, central banks are voting with their vaults. If that continues, it won’t dethrone the dol- lar overnight. But it could mean a world in which
U.S. assets must work a bit harder to attract global savings — and where a bar of gold, quietly stacked in a domestic vault, feels like the safest insurance policymakers can buy.
The $11 billion valuation is based on a $42.22-an-ounce
price set by Congress in 1973. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently shot down speculation about updating its value to today’s price, which would hand Washington a $990 billion windfall — enough to cover about half of this year’s $1.97 trillion budget deficit.
DECEMBER 2025 | NEWSMAX 13
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