How safe havens stack up as tech, energy and France fears grip markets

By Sophie Kiderlin, Canan Sevgili and Sruthi Shankar LONDON, Oct 20 (Reuters) Demand for safe-haven assets is strong as AI jitters hurt tech stocks, the Iran war continues and keeps energy prices elevated, while worries about high government debt loads persist. Yet traditional safe havens have not performed as well as expected this year: Gold sold off after the start of the Iran war as investors ditched top-performing assets ​given losses elsewhere. Government bonds, once considered one of the world s safest assets, are volatile. Here is a look at how some safe ‌havens currently stack up. 1) LOVE/HATE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE DOLLAR Breaking with last year s sell US theme, the dollar has rallied since the Iran war started, up 4% since late February. That has reinforced its role as a go-to safe haven at times of global stress. A strong economy, higher rates, and the US s energy-exporter status have helped. But factors that caused traders to question the dollar s long-term safe-haven s