The idea is to diversify into lower-risk assets than the U.S. dollar or other currencies, even if those investments will cost more in the long run. It doesn't m

The idea is to diversify into lower-risk assets than the U.S. dollar or other currencies, even if those investments will cost more in the long run. It doesn't matter what gold costs right now if the USD experiences further free-fall, which is not out of the question. This is generally the same reason there are buyers of sovereign debt (i.e. Treasury Notes) at a negative interest rate. If the Eurozone collapses, as is more possible every day now, then that's a case in point for diversifying away from Euros. Some other choices in this Great Recession are USD, U.S. Treasury Notes, Japanese Yen, Swiss Francs, etc, none particularly attractive right now. The Chinese Yuan isn't a viable choice because it is pegged to the dollar. [Edit:] The point is to deal with the current high risk of currency free-fall, not your normal everyday investment ebb and flow.