"So in relative terms, gold is appealing to people who ask 'where should I put my money'....
it's a hedge on uncertainty."
He added: "I think the US dollar will remain dominant but people will look at alternative investment sources."
Under a new system he said "the key currencies will be the dollar, the euro, the pound, the yen and over time the renminbi (yuan) as it internationalises and moves towards an open capital account".
Zoellick has said previously the world needed a new regime to succeed the "Bretton Woods II" system of floating currencies, which has been in place since the fixed-rate currency system linked to gold broke down in 1971.
Regarding his comments in the FT that gold should be used as a reference point in the new monetary system, he said: "People may not like the idea... but it's already happened and markets are already using gold as an alternative monetary asset.
"That's not saying there should be a gold standard.
It is saying that we are having problems with