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Gold is often considered to be the only safe investment. Its value as a currency stemmed not only from its beauty and rarity but also from its durability. Unlike other forms of currency, such as paper or shells, gold does not deteriorate over time, making it a stable and reliable store of value. But cash or some currencies are also considered safe harbours.
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Currencies are only one of the many types of bankable and non-bankable assets you can track in one place with the Altoo Wealth Platform, which automatically consolidates, analyses, and visualises data from multiple sources across your entire portfolio.
The most stable currencies aren’t necessarily the most powerful or expensive. The essential factor is that they hold their exchange rates, i.e., their rates do not fluctuate too much over time. Swiss franc, Japanese yen, or US dollar—these currencies have survived all the crises well.
According to Goldman Sachs, the status of a currency as a safe haven is typically the result of a combination of historical and economic factors, something like a large net surplus of international investment. Often, markets act in such a way that they react in the same way, even if the original factors have lost their importance.
The Swiss Franc Is the World’s Most Stable Currency
The 2023 most stable currency in the world is the Swiss franc, the official currency of Switzerland and Liechtenstein. With a strong economy and a highly developed banking system in the country, the franc was bound to become one of the most stable currencies in the world. Being tied to gold also adds to the status of a “safe currency”. The franc was covered by gold until mid-1999—longer than other currencies. The reputation of the precious metal as a stabiliser has thus passed on to the franc and remains attached to it to a certain extent to this day.
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A second reason is that Switzerland is considered a protected area for conservative Europeans. The currency responds well to European crises. “Ukraine is in Europe, and the Middle East is close to Europe, also because of its high energy dependence on the region,” Goldman Sachs experts say. At present, the franc is the best crisis currency.
The Third Most Traded Currency Is the Japanese Yen
The Japanese yen has gained a good position among stable currencies for reasons quite different from the Swiss franc. He reacts positively when US stocks collapse. On the other hand, it suffers from high yields on US bonds; the US currency is much more attractive to Japanese investors.
Moreover, despite having the highest national debt in the world, Japan has managed to keep its inflation rates low for long periods of time. The Japanese yen is the third most traded currency in the foreign exchange market, following the US dollar and Euro. In addition, Japan holds eighth place among the top ten countries with the largest gold reserves in the world.
The Attractiveness of the US dollar
Goldman Sachs experts call the US dollar a safe defence against economic crises. Because the US Central Bank’s Fed will keep interest rates at a high level in difficult economic times, the US currency will remain relatively stable for the most part. In the 2023 ranking of the world’s stable currencies, the US dollar took seventh place. Being the most exchanged and popular currency in the world, the US dollar hasn’t been backed by gold for quite a while now, i.e., there is not enough gold around the world to back every dollar. Surely, the gold standard has been mostly abandoned as the basis for a monetary system within a country, yet still, many people argue that this is an important factor in identifying the stability of a currency.
Nordic Beauty
The top 3 for 2023 are closed by the Norwegian krone. It benefits from the country’s high oil exports, which can provide some protection against inflation. This fact also has some disadvantages: the krone value falls with the price of oil. Still, Norway is one of the very few countries in the world that does not have net debt, i.e., it does not need to borrow money to pay off. Another interesting fact about the Norwegian krone is that it’s not pegged to any other currency. This hardly adds to the stability of the currency in a broad sense, but it shows the country’s course towards supporting its national currency and thus strengthening it.
However and wherever you allocate your wealth, Altoo helps you clearly view the performance of each asset and analyse it in comparison to overall market moves.
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