Gold is now the top U.S. export

Gold exports from the United States have overtaken traditional top exports such as oil, pharmaceuticals and aircraft by value beginning in October 2025, driven not only by record gold prices but also by unusually large shipment volumes - February 2026 may have set an all-time tonnage record. Most of the exported metal is routed to Switzerland (almost certainly for refining), followed by Hong Kong (the conduit to China) and the United Kingdom (home of the London Bullion Market Association). U.S. official gold reserves remain unchanged, so the surge appears to come from current mining and recycling rather than sales from government stockpiles.

Patrick A. Heller argues that geopolitical shifts and growing distrust of the U.S. dollar explain the trend. He notes that combined foreign central-bank gold holdings now outweigh their U.S. Treasury holdings and that China has sharply reduced U.S. Treasury holdings - from roughly $1.096 trillion in April 2021 to $784.3 billion in February 2025 and about $693.3 billion in February 2026 - replacing much of that exposure with gold. China’s push to de-dollarize international commerce through alternative payment systems and a BRICS transaction unit, plus underreported Chinese gold accumulation, leads Heller to suspect a high share of U.S. exports ultimately benefits China after Swiss refining; he admits this conclusion is speculative but finds it plausible.