Swiss National Bank: Gold As a Safe Haven Asset

The Swiss National Bank just released a new report about how gold acts as a safe haven asset. Here are some of their findings:

The Swiss National Bank’s new report reveals that gold plays a unique role in Switzerland’s economy. Switzerland is a global hub for gold, refining one-third of the world’s gold and ranking fourth in gold-backed exchange-traded funds (ETFs). This makes gold Switzerland’s most valuable traded product – accounting for 27% of all goods traded in 2024, even exceeding pharmaceuticals.

When global uncertainty rises, more investors turn to gold as a “safe haven.” This increased demand creates predictable patterns in Switzerland’s trade numbers. During stressful global periods, Switzerland exports more gold to countries that provide gold-backed financial products, dramatically shifting trade balances. The report cautions that these large swings in trade figures don’t actually reflect changes in Switzerland’s economic health but instead show global market concerns. Perhaps most surprising is that despite gold’s enormous presence in Switzerland’s trade statistics, the actual gold industry employs only about 1,000 people in the country.