I’m not sure, but it seems to me that the dollar is the best of a dodgy breed. The Old World nations–Europe, Japan, and the United States–have rapidly aging populations. Their outlays on social welfare are rising faster than their GDPs. Their dependency ratios–the number of retired persons supported by each worker–are taking off. This suggests to me that the dollar, the euro, the pound, and the yen (DEPY) might all continue to be good shorts relative to gold. (See Figure 5 in our Gold chart book linked below.) Gold is widely viewed as a hedge against inflation. More broadly, it is a hedge against out-of-control debt-financed government spending.
The currencies of the New World should also continue to outperform those of the Old World. While the economies of the Old World are likely to stagnate as a result of the expansion of their social welfare states, the economies of the New World are likely to continue to rapidly improve their standards of living. The proliferation of free trade and globalization should continue to boost prosperity in the emerging economies of Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America. As discussed below, China is leading this charge and pushing up commodity prices. Australia, Canada, South Korea, and Taiwan are included in my New World paradigm.
