Gold is now the top U.S. export

Normally, America’s highest value exports are either oil, pharmaceuticals, or aircraft and their parts.  Not now.  Starting in October 2025, the value of gold exports has topped all other categories almost every month.  For information on U.S. nonmonetary gold exports through December 2025, go to https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/IEAXGG

That’s not just because the price of gold reached record high prices.  In February 2026, the tons of gold exported may have set an all-time record.

The majority of gold exports are going to Switzerland, almost certainly to the refiners there.  The second greatest quantity is going to Hong Kong, which is the global destination for gold going to China.  The third greatest quantity of exported gold is going to the United Kingdom, where the London Bullion Market Association is the world’s largest gold trading exchange.

The U.S. government is still reporting that its gold reserves are unchanged, so these exports look to be coming from current mine output and recycling operations.

Why is this happening?

There is no official explanation of why U.S. gold exports have soared in recent months.  But here is my speculation.

1. There are multiple foreign governments growing leery of the future loss of purchasing power of the U.S. dollar, where they would prefer a different reserve asset with a better track record.  Among all foreign central banks combined, the value of their gold reserves now exceeds their holdings of U.S. Treasury debt.
2. Most foreign nations do not have the economic and financial power when negotiating with the U.S. government or businesses to demand payments for goods and services other than in dollars.
3. China does have the economic and financial clout to press for payment in gold instead of dollars.  The Chinese Central Bank has a track record the past few years of reducing its holdings of U.S. Treasury debt, from $1.096.1 trillion in April 2021 to $784.3 billion in February 2025, and the latest reported at just $693.3 billion in February 2026.  Much of the decrease in Bank of China U.S. Treasuries has been replaced with gold.
4. The Chinese government is also working to decrease the use of the dollar in international commerce, through the creation of alternative payment systems and the promotion of the “unit” for transactions among the member nations of the BRICS consortium.
5. When you add up the gold held by the Chinese central bank (which has a decades-long track record of underreporting gold reserves, Chinese sovereign investment funds, the Chinese military, the inventories held by companies owned directly by the Chinese government or the Chinese military, and private citizenry, there are multiple analysts who consider that nation effectively controls the greatest amount of gold of any government.

When you put these factors together, my suspicion is that a high percentage of U.S. gold exports are going to China, though some must first detour through Swiss refineries to convert the gold into kilogram bars of acceptable purity.  It is possible that the U.S. government may have acquiesced in this form of payment in return for other political concessions having to do with a number of global uncertainties.

Can I prove this?  No.  But it does make sense, much more than any other explanation.

Last column’s numismatic trivia question.

Last time I asked—Why did the Coinage Act of 1834 reduce the gold content in U.S. coins?  From the late 1700s to the 1830s, the relative value of gold to silver had increased.  As a result, pre-1834 U.S. gold coins contained a higher value of gold than their face value.  Many were being melted down.  In 1834, the U.S. government reduced the gold content in coins to match the face value to the international value of the gold they contained.

This week’s trivia question

Here is this week’s question. Which denominations has the U.S government issued in both coin and currency? Come back next week for the answer.

Patrick A. Heller was honored as a 2019 FUN Numismatic Ambassador. He is also the recipient of the American Numismatic Association 2018 Glenn Smedley Memorial Service Award, the 2017 Exemplary Service Award, the 2012 Harry Forman National Dealer of the Year Award, and the 2008 Presidential Award. Over the years, he has also been honored by the Numismatic Literary Guild, Professional Numismatists Guild, National Coin & Bullion Association, and the Michigan State Numismatic Society. He is the communications officer of Liberty Coin Service in Lansing, Michigan, and writes “Liberty’s Outlook,” a quarterly newsletter on rare coins and precious metals subjects. He now volunteers with the National Coin & Bullion Association as its Industry Issues Advisor.  Past newsletter issues can be viewed at www.libertycoinservice.com. Some of his radio commentaries, "Things You ‘Know’ That Just Aren’t So,” and “Important News You Need To Know,” can be heard at 8:45 a.m. Wednesday and Friday mornings on 1320-AM WILS in Lansing (which streams live and becomes part of the audio archives posted at www.1320wils.com).

You may also like: