The dollar may have hit a 14-month low but in times of crises investors of the world still flock to it for safety, says U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

“When the crisis was at its peak, when people were most concerned about the risk of collapse and deflation, what happened then? The world wanted to be in Treasuries, in the safest, most liquid markets, and you saw the dollar rise when people were most concerned about the future of the world,” Geithner told CNBC.

For Geithner, keeping the dollar the world's reserve currency means keeping inflation low and the country's financial system in order — and not taking the greenback's reserve status for granted.

“It's not something we can count on, so we need to make sure that we understand and we continue to foster, and again, we're going to do that.”

Now that the worst is behind the U.S. economy, the dollar plunged as commodities became more attractive over currencies in general.

Yet a U.S. Treasury International Capital report released recently shows investors are still holding onto U.S. debt, indicating net long-term purchases of U.S. securities increased to $28.6 billion in August from $15.3 billion in July.

"The massive build-up on Treasury bill purchases seen in the midst of the crisis has still not eroded by much and if anything represents pent-up potential [dollar] outflows," or a move into riskier dollar assets, says Alan Ruskin, head of international currency for RBS Greenwich Capital in Greenwich, Conn, according to Dow Jones Newswires.