Why the dollar is safe - for now

China's gold reserves have almost doubled, leading to much speculation about the Middle Kingdom's intentions toward the US dollar. But, as Cris Sholto Heaton explains, it's highly unlikely that China or anyone else is going to dump trillions into the foreign exchange markets any time soon.

The press never misses a chance to dance on the greenback's grave these days. So the news that China's holdings of gold had almost doubled got a lot of coverage last week.

At first glance, this looks like proof that unhappiness with America's profligate ways is finally boiling over. China is preparing to dump the dollar and switch into something a little more durable. Or so the story went.

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China (CSI 300)2,623+1.9%
Hong Kong (Hang Seng)15,521+1.7%
India (Sensex)11,403+0.7%
Indonesia (JCI)1,730+8.7%
Japan (Topix)847+2.0%
Malaysia (KLCI)991-0.2%
Philippines (PSEi)2,1040%
Singapore (Straits Times)1,920+3.6%
South Korea (KOSPI)1,369+1.1%
Taiwan (Taiex)5,993+1.9%
Thailand (SET)492+3.7%
Vietnam (VN Index)322+3.8%
MSCI Asia83+1.5%
MSCI Asia ex-Japan336+3.1%
Cris Sholto Heaton

Cris Sholto Heaton is an investment analyst and writer who has been contributing to MoneyWeek since 2006 and was managing editor of the magazine between 2016 and 2018. He is especially interested in international investing, believing many investors still focus too much on their home markets and that it pays to take advantage of all the opportunities the world offers. He often writes about Asian equities, international income and global asset allocation.

Cris began his career in financial services consultancy at PwC and Lane Clark & Peacock, before an abrupt change of direction into oil, gas and energy at Petroleum Economist and Platts and subsequently into investment research and writing. In addition to his articles for MoneyWeek, he also works with a number of asset managers, consultancies and financial information providers.

He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and the Investment Management Certificate, as well as degrees in finance and mathematics. He has also studied acting, film-making and photography, and strongly suspects that an awareness of what makes a compelling story is just as important for understanding markets as any amount of qualifications.