The United States remains economically and financially dominant, but beneath the surface doubts are growing about how sustainable that position really is. According to Benjamin Jones, head of research at Invesco, the continued rise in gold suggests that investors are preparing for a world in which the balance of power is shifting, without any clear alternative leader emerging.

The US twin deficits

The joint, pre-2025 rally in US risk assets and the dollar sits uneasily with concerns over US fiscal and current-account deficits, a deteriorating Net International Investment Position (NIIP), reindustrialisation goals, and the secular rise in gold, explains Jones.

“In our view, the long-running rally in gold alongside high returns and rising concentration in dollar assets reflects two forces: a faltering world order and the economics of heavy US fiscal imbalances, rising external obligations, and persistent deficits; but also, the unique success of US firms in driving GDP growth, earnings and innovation. Ironically, that strength may itself increase the risk of a financial, currency or balance-of-payments shock in a geopolitical crisis.”

According to Jones, the sharp drop in the US NIIP has come as foreign claims outstrip US claims abroad. “This was driven less by foreign Treasury holdings, which have stabilised, and more by inflows into private-sector assets, especially equities, as investors embraced “US Exceptionalism” as shorthand for superior growth and financial performance relative to peers such as Western Europe and Japan. The result has been major inflows into US equities, corporate debt and private markets.”

Even though much of the increase in exposure has been to risk assets rather than bonds, large outflows could still threaten fiscal and financial stability, says Jones. “For now, trade barriers and efforts to weaken the dollar to promote reindustrialisation have prompted rebalancing away from US stocks, bonds and the dollar. Amid geopolitical tensions, weaker fiscal and external positions, and renewed protectionism and unpredictability, official investors and private investors have sharply increased gold purchases as a store of value.”

Heavy gold flow in financial markets

US financial leadership persists despite geoeconomic rebalancing toward rivals, Jones continues. “The US still leads in market capitalisation, turnover and liquidity, while the Treasury market remains the largest and deepest pool of debt issuance. Dollar liquidity is so high that trades <<between other currencies are often executed through the dollar. Global portfolio concentration in the US has also been reinforced by inflows into benchmarked funds and passive trackers. The core driver remains US exceptionalism. Rich valuations and concentration in US tech may suggest a bubble, yet US firms have continued to deliver innovation, market share, revenue and earnings growth.”

According to Jones, rivals remain less compelling from a market perspective. “Europe has lagged the US since the financial crisis, while China has matched or surpassed US innovation but, until recently, delivered weaker market returns due to domestic de-risking policies.”

The US share of official reserves has declined somewhat, while the euro and most other currencies have levelled off, Jones continues. “Gold’s share has risen sharply since the start of the war in Ukraine in 2022, suggesting the TINA problem persists: there is no real alternative to the dollar other than gold itself. Central banks increasingly prefer the safety of gold, the liability of no government.”

Future: Geopolitical, economic, technological and military competition
An open world economy helped many countries narrow productivity gaps with the US, but leadership is no longer aligned across power domains. “Economically, the world is increasingly tripolar, centred on the US, China and the eurozone. Militarily, power is concentrated in the US, China and Russia. Technologically, the US and China are at or near parity, while others lag. Financially, however, the US still has no peer,” notes Jones.

He continues: “Conventional economic, military and technological competition therefore still matters, even in a nuclear world. US concerns about overextension are sharpened by China’s vast industrial capacity, with output and shipbuilding far exceeding that of the US. Recent wars have shown that modern conflict still depends on industrial mobilisation for technology, drones and ammunition. This helps explain the US push for reindustrialisation.”

At the same time, US fiscal and external obligations create vulnerabilities if confidence were shaken by a future crisis, conflict or major shock. Jones concludes: “Washington is also retreating from parts of the multilateral order while seeking to reshape global trade more in its favour, reinforcing perceptions of unilateralism. Gold may be signaling an incomplete global reordering: not a clear new polarity, but an “unipolar” world in which leadership shifts by issue, region and moment. The US and the dollar would still likely remain first among equals, supported by deep financial markets, technological dynamism and strategic advantages, even as rival powers continue to rise.”