Reuters Morning Bid Why aren’t investors fleeing to gold?
Mar 4, 2026
Markets are rattled by the Middle East conflict with Asian indices hit hard due to energy and manufacturing exposure. Surprising weakness in gold despite geopolitical chaos is explored. The dollar’s surge as the go-to liquidity refuge gets explained. Oil has risen but not as sharply as many expected.
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Winning Asian Markets Suffer Largest Selloffs
- Asia's top-performing markets plunged because they are big energy importers and had strong prior gains to unwind.
- Mike Dolan cites KOSPI's 12% one-day fall as an example of profit-taking and energy exposure driving the drop.
Dollar Liquidity Beat Gold As Safe Haven
- Gold failed to rally despite Middle East conflict as investors sought dollar liquidity instead of physical assets.
- Mike Dolan links the dollar jump to a search for transactable cash and belief the US is less exposed to an energy squeeze.
US Energy Exports Cushion Global Price Shock
- Oil and gas prices rose but not as dramatically as the scale of the crisis might suggest because the US is now a major energy producer and exporter.
- Anna Schmansky stresses US self-sufficiency in petroleum and LNG as moderating global price shocks.