Gold Remains Relevant As Investments Despite Weakening Correlation With Currencies

By Harizah Hanim Mohamed

KUALA LUMPUR, May 20 (Bernama) -- Precious metals such as gold and silver continue to play an important role as an investment strategy for hedging against uncertain economic situations, even though the inverse correlation between currencies and gold movements has changed, especially over the past three years.

The chairman of the Shariah Advisory Council of the Securities Commission Malaysia, Prof Datuk Dr Aznan Hasan, said that gold holdings remain necessary and play a role in stabilising situations such as rapid currency fluctuation or very high inflation.

“With currency inflation and so on, it causes a currency to lose value, but not gold. In other words, when inflation occurs, the value of gold will increase along with it (inflation).

“So we protect our financial level,” he told Bernama after attending the 2026 Islamic Investment Conference yesterday.

Themed “Generating Wealth Based on Sharia: The Potential of Gold and Silver in the Current Economy”, the conference was organised by the Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia in collaboration with Bursa Malaysia.

The inverse relationship between gold and currency is no longer absolute

“In the past, the relationship between gold and currency was clearer and almost inversely balanced. Every time the value of a currency falls, the price of gold rises, and when the price of gold falls, the value of the affected currency strengthens.

“However, in the past two to three years, that relationship has not been 100 per cent. However, it still exists and continues to occur naturally because when a currency weakens, investors typically shift to other instruments like gold,” he added.

Aznan noted that the balance, once seen as so consistent and almost perfect, is now showing a slight imbalance.

“In other words, the rise in currency value does not necessarily cause gold prices to drop completely, and vice versa.

“The inverse correlation between the two can no longer be relied upon as absolutely as before,” he said further.

Azhan emphasised that, even though investors want to include gold in their investment portfolios, they still need to understand market trends and gold demand to avoid the assumption that there is an absolute balance between gold and currency.

Gold is not an HQLA instrument

Explaining the role of precious metals in the monetary and banking system, Aznan said that gold is not categorised as a high-quality liquid asset (HQLA) instrument under the Basel III Standard.

He elaborated that gold does not significantly help in managing the liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) or the net stable funding ratio (NSFR).

“Therefore, for banks, including Islamic banks, possessing gold or gold holdings does not necessarily provide an advantage,” he added.

Demand for gold by global central banks is increasing

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said that although gold is no longer an important component in the global financial system after the collapse of the Bretton Woods system in 1971, demand from global central banks is rapidly increasing.

According to data released by the World Gold Council, central banks continued to accumulate gold holdings as of February this year, with net purchases totalling 27 tonnes.

This amount represents a rebound from January and is in line with 2025’s monthly average of 26 tonnes.

In the first two months of 2026, central banks have purchased 31 tonnes of gold, a slower rate than the same period last year, when they purchased 50 tonnes.

The World Gold Council also reported that Bank Negara Malaysia continued its gold purchases in February, adding an additional two tonnes.

Meanwhile, the People’s Bank of China continued its gold purchases for the 16th consecutive month, increasing its gold reserves to 2,308 tonnes or 10 per cent of its total reserves.

The dollar’s devaluation and geopolitics are changing the financial landscape.

Mohd Afzanizam said that while the existing banking system is based on Fractional Reserve Banking, where all banking institutions are required to keep a portion of their deposits with the central bank, these deposits are mostly in cash form with no gold component existing in this system.”

“But due to the rapidly changing financial world, especially in terms of geopolitics and its connection to the dollar,” he said.

He said the phenomenon of de-dollarisation is underway, with the percentage of US dollars in global central bank reserves already declining.

Based on data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the share of US dollars in global central bank reserves declined to 56.8 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2025 from 71.2 per cent in the first quarter of 1999.

Mohd Afzanizam said this situation aligns with the rise in central bank gold holdings worldwide.

“At the same time, this matter shows that gold, as a symbol of stability and high value, has made it an increasingly favoured asset class in the world of investment.

“This is also reflected in the growth of gold investment demand, which increased by 1.9 per cent (15-year CAGR), particularly the growth of exchange-traded fund (ETF) investments, which recorded a growth of 4.6 per cent (15-year CAGR),” he added.

Gold can be integrated into financial and payment systems.

Mohd Afzanizam also explained that geopolitical factors, including the US’s policy of increasingly marginalising the global community, have weakened global institutions and economies.

“Therefore, a multipolar world will change the global economic landscape, including financial systems such as currencies. 

“Additionally, the development of technology such as blockchain has seen the use of stablecoin technology, which is seen as having the potential to transform the payment industry,” he said.

Mohd Afzanizam said that gold and possibly other valuable commodities, such as silver, platinum, palladium and others, have the potential to be integrated into financial and payment systems.

He said the best example of such integration is the Ar-Rahnu Islamic financing industry, which is seen as the main platform for the micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to access financing, especially working capital financing.

“Due to the growing Ar-Rahnu industry, there is a need to ensure a sufficient supply of gold.

“Therefore, this situation demands a comprehensive strategy for the development of the upstream industry, such as gold mining; midstream, such as raw gold processing; and downstream, such as Ar-Rahnu and jewellery,” he said.

Mohd Afzanizam emphasised that a comprehensive policy needs to be developed to protect the mineral industry's ecosystem, including gold and Ar-Rahnu, for the benefit of industry players and customers.

-- BERNAMA