5 ms·

The US dollar is losing its status as the dominant reserve currency

20 points by pdog 9y ago

kinkrtyavimoodh 9y ago
This will likely happen more if the current administration continues signaling that the US may not necessarily be there for other countries when they need it. How conservatives who usually correlate with nationalist feelings (which I sometimes sympathize with) can tolerate seeing the US lose its status as world hegemon is beyond me.
- nielsbot 9y ago
  I guess: American exceptionalism makes us stronger, working with others (i.e. acknowledging their needs, compromising, diplomacy. etc.) makes us weaker. Seems fear-based/emotional to me. As opposed to rational, logical.
jotjotzzz 9y ago
There is nothing in this article that says anything about petrodollar. The U.S. will lose the global reserve currency once it's no longer used in oil exchanges. The U.S. will do anything in its power to retain that right as already proven in the Iraq war and countless other debaucheries.
- woodandsteel 9y ago
  I have no expertise in this area, but my understanding is that global trade in general is carried out largely in dollars, not just oil.
  - thephyber 9y ago
    To address this, a discussion about political ideology seeps in, which violates HN guidelines. It has to do with the Gold Standard, the Bretton Woods agreement, Nixon taking the US off the Gold Standard, and countries in the Middle East that the US has attacked (either overtly or secretly). Basically the hypothesis is that the US has attacked every oil-exporting country soon after they threaten to transact oil in any currency other than the petrodollar (Iraq, Libya, Syria, Iran, etc). I haven't read into it enough to support or refute the claims, but it's a common refrain in US-libertarian media.
Feniks 9y ago
The elite of the world own trillions in US treasury bonds. Its why the US can continue to run up their national debt. The US is the safe deposit box of the world. There's simply not enough debt elsewhere to rival the US.
- ravenstine 9y ago
  You are lightyears ahead of most people for understanding that fact.
ggm 9y ago
dominant reserve currency as a sentence invites reflection on what dominant means: it means there are other reserve currencies. Its a basket. (basket case?) Inter-reserve bank settlement regime and the use of non-national settlement tokens at a denominated exchange is a thing. The reserves, and what currency they are in, becomes something of a speculative hedge (of the best kind, certainly, best for some measure of "my suit is better than your suit" best)

20 points by pdog 9y ago

This will likely happen more if the current administration continues signaling that the US may not necessarily be there for other countries when they need it. How conservatives who usually correlate with nationalist feelings (which I sometimes sympathize with) can tolerate seeing the US lose its status as world hegemon is beyond me.

nielsbot 9y ago
I guess: American exceptionalism makes us stronger, working with others (i.e. acknowledging their needs, compromising, diplomacy. etc.) makes us weaker. Seems fear-based/emotional to me. As opposed to rational, logical.

jotjotzzz 9y ago

There is nothing in this article that says anything about petrodollar. The U.S. will lose the global reserve currency once it's no longer used in oil exchanges. The U.S. will do anything in its power to retain that right as already proven in the Iraq war and countless other debaucheries.

woodandsteel 9y ago
I have no expertise in this area, but my understanding is that global trade in general is carried out largely in dollars, not just oil.
- thephyber 9y ago
  To address this, a discussion about political ideology seeps in, which violates HN guidelines. It has to do with the Gold Standard, the Bretton Woods agreement, Nixon taking the US off the Gold Standard, and countries in the Middle East that the US has attacked (either overtly or secretly). Basically the hypothesis is that the US has attacked every oil-exporting country soon after they threaten to transact oil in any currency other than the petrodollar (Iraq, Libya, Syria, Iran, etc). I haven't read into it enough to support or refute the claims, but it's a common refrain in US-libertarian media.

Feniks 9y ago

The elite of the world own trillions in US treasury bonds. Its why the US can continue to run up their national debt. The US is the safe deposit box of the world. There's simply not enough debt elsewhere to rival the US.

ravenstine 9y ago
You are lightyears ahead of most people for understanding that fact.

ggm 9y ago

dominant reserve currency as a sentence invites reflection on what dominant means: it means there are other reserve currencies. Its a basket. (basket case?) Inter-reserve bank settlement regime and the use of non-national settlement tokens at a denominated exchange is a thing. The reserves, and what currency they are in, becomes something of a speculative hedge (of the best kind, certainly, best for some measure of "my suit is better than your suit" best)