Swiss safe-haven inflows into money market and gold ETFs sent gold and other precious metals higher this week. Swiss based hedge funds have deposited record amounts of cash into money markets and precious metal ETFs to store wealth, as the world’s stock markets provide little reason to invest.

According to Reuters, the fund with the highest inflows was the Zuercher Kantonalbank gold ETF, which posted inflows of 523 million francs. The Swiss ETF company, Julius Baer, posted inflows for all of its precious metals ETFs, including silver, gold and platinum. Across the Atlantic, US based SPDR Gold Shares (GLD: Quote, Profile, Advanced Chart, News) posted mild outflows for a similar period; yet, international demand continues to send precious metal prices higher.

After reaching $1000 per ounce, gold has fallen to roughly $900 per ounce, with GLD trading for $88.93 per share.

Rydex has expanded its collection of eight CurrencyShares ETFs with the launch of a new product to track Russian currency. According to the Market Wire press release, CurrencyShares Russian Ruble Trust (XRU: Quote, Profile, Advanced Chart, News) provides the first currency exposure to the Russian economy and has just begun trading 1,000 Rubles per share on the NYSE Arca.

CurrencyShares ETFs from Rydex have become increasingly popular. Market Wire reports that nearly half of the currency industry’s assets are within the Rydex trademark. The eight currencies that make up the CurrencyShares brand are the euro, Australian dollar, British pound, Canadian dollar, Japanese yen, Mexican peso, Swedish krona and Swiss franc. Edward Lopez, director of ETF strategies at Rydex Investments, contributed to the press release by saying, “Currency has historically shown a low correlation to stocks and bonds, which has made it an attractive asset class for financial professionals seeking portfolio diversification. In addition to potential diversification benefits, CurrencyShares Russian Ruble Trust offers pure-play access for investors who wish to participate in the growth of an emerging market economy.”

The U.S. dollar had been consistently dropping in value this year until a reversal took place in August. The publisher of PowerShares Momentum Tracker, Don Dion, discusses the dollar’s recuperation in the Newswire article, saying, “After suffering a long-term slump, the dollar rose more than 8% this past month in relation to the euro.” The PowerShares Momentum Tracker is a system that ranks various ETFs. Two ETFs that closely monitor the performance of the dollar have moved up the charts since the currency just reached a six-month high in value. According to Newswire, PowerShares DB US Dollar Index Bearish ETF (UDN) and PowerShares DB US Dollar Index Bullish ETF (UUP) have both improved their ranking over the past month with UDN climbing to the tenth spot from seventeenth and UUP jumping to the ninth position from twenty-ninth. UUP and UDN are ETFs that follow the U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the dollar’s performance against other major currencies like the euro, Japanese yen, or Swiss franc.