World uses of gold

Gold's Usefulness as safe haven:
The geo-political and world economic structure is currently undergoing major change-some have even called the situation an "upheaval." This means that the investment outlook, particularly for certain parts of the world, is more unpredictable than usual. Under these circumstances, it is logical to conclude that certain investment portfolios should include real (non-paper) assets such as commodities for protection against a potential decline in the paper markets.

Gold's Usefulness as an Asset Diversifier:
Most portfolios are invested primarily in traditional financial assets such as stocks, bonds and mutual funds. Adding gold to a portfolio introduces an entirely different asset; a tangible or real asset, thus increasing the portfolio's degree of diversification. The purpose of diversification is to protect the total portfolio against fluctuations in the value of any one asset or type of asset. Gold does exactly that.

The reason is basic: 
The economic forces which determine the price of gold are different from, and in many cases opposed to, the forces which determine the prices of most financial assets. The price of an equity depends on the earnings and growth potential of the company it represents. Likewise, the price of a bond depends on its safety, its yield, and the yields of competing fixed income investments.

The price of gold, on the other hand, depends on different factors:
Worldwide physical supply and demand for gold, movements in foreign exchange rates, inflation, interest rates and political turmoil. The effects of all these factors are somewhat complex and variable. But the important point to remember is simply that they cause the price of gold to move independently of the prices of financial assets.

Article source: Compliments of  the World Gold Council