There were two dramatic changes in United States (U.S.) government policy toward the monetary role of gold in the last 100 years. The first was in 1933-34. Private holdings of gold were nationalized in March 1933. Then, the U.S. Treasury adopted a new parity for the U.S. dollar of $35.00 an ounce at the end of January 1934. Gold production surged, the private demand for gold fell sharply and the U.S. experienced large increases in the foreign demand for U.S. dollar securities. There was a massive flow of gold to the U.S. The second change in U.S. gold policy followed a meeting at Camp David in August 1971 when the U.S. Treasury closed its gold window because of the perception that there might be a run on its gold holdings as they declined toward $10 billion. Some U.S. officials sought to diminish the monetary role of gold, which was accomplished by, in effect, setting the U.S. monetary price at zero. The anticipation of some U.S. officials at the Camp David meeting was that the persistent U.S. payments problem would disappear once foreign currencies no longer had parities in terms of the U.S. dollar. The prices of these foreign currencies would increase and the U.S. trade surplus would become larger. Instead, many foreign central banks became even larger buyers of U.S. dollar securities, which led to a higher price of the U.S. dollar and a U.S. trade deficit. The U.S. international investment position morphed from the world’s largest creditor country to the world’s largest debtor.

在过去的 100 年中，美国 (US) 政府对黄金的货币作用的政策发生了两次戏剧性的变化。第一次是在 1933-34 年。私人持有的黄金在 1933 年 3 月被国有化。随后，美国财政部于 1934 年 1 月底采用了新的美元对价 35.00 美元/盎司。黄金产量激增，私人对黄金的需求急剧下降，美国经历了大规模的外国对美元证券的需求增加。大量黄金流入美国 美国黄金政策的第二次变化是在 1971 年 8 月在戴维营举行的一次会议之后，当时美国财政部关闭了黄金窗口，因为人们认为其持有的黄金可能会出现挤兑。下降到 100 亿美元。一些美国官员试图削弱黄金的货币作用，这实际上是通过将美国货币价格设置为零来实现的。戴维营会议上一些美国官员的预期是，一旦外币不再与美元平价，美国持续存在的支付问题就会消失。这些外币的价格会上涨，美国的贸易顺差会变大。相反，许多外国央行成为美元证券的更大买家，导致美元价格上涨和美国贸易逆差。美国国际投资头寸从全球最大债权国转变为全球最大债务国。一旦外币不再与美元平价，支付问题就会消失。这些外币的价格会上涨，美国的贸易顺差会变大。相反，许多外国央行成为美元证券的更大买家，导致美元价格上涨和美国贸易逆差。美国国际投资头寸从全球最大债权国转变为全球最大债务国。一旦外币不再与美元平价，支付问题就会消失。这些外币的价格会上涨，美国的贸易顺差会变大。相反，许多外国央行成为美元证券的更大买家，导致美元价格上涨和美国贸易逆差。美国国际投资头寸从全球最大债权国转变为全球最大债务国。