As US credibility crumbles across the Gulf, China’s petroyuan fast emerging as the currency of Asia’s post-war energy order
Archiv: Dollar (Währungssystem / currency system)
What Iran means for the dollar: a perfect storm for the petrodollar
(March 24, 2026)
The world saves in dollars in large part because it pays in dollars. The dollar‘s dominance in cross-border trade is arguably built on the petrodollar: globally traded oil is priced and invoiced in USD. This arrangement can be traced to a deal struck in 1974 where Saudi Arabia agreed to price oil in USD and invest surpluses in USD assets, in exchange for US security guarantees. Because oil is a core input to global manufacturing and transport, there is a natural incentive for global value chains to dollarize, and global surpluses to accumulate in USD.
The foundations of the petrodollar regime have been under pressure even before this conflict. Most Middle East oil is now sold to Asia not the US; sanctioned oil from Russia and Iran has already been trading off dollar rails; Saudi Arabia has been localizing defence, and experimenting with forms of non-dollar payment infrastructure such as Project mBridge.
The current conflict may expose further fault lines, by challenging the US security umbrella for Gulf infrastructure and the maritime security for global trade in oil. Damage to Gulf economies could encourage an unwind in their foreign asset savings held largely in dollars. In this context, reports that the passage for ships through the Strait of Hormuz may be granted in exchange for oil payments in yuan should be closely followed. The conflict could be remembered as a key catalyst for erosion in petrodollar dominance, and the beginnings of the petroyuan.
War on Iran could be ‚catalyst‘ for erosion of US petrodollar, Deutsche Bank says
The petrodollar helps keep borrowing costs down for US consumers and Washington, giving them big advantages over peers
Iran may allow oil tankers through Strait of Hormuz trading in Chinese yuan
Iran is considering allowing a limited number of oil tankers to pass through the Strait of Hormuz on the condition that the oil cargo is traded in Chinese yuan, CNN reported, quoting a senior Iranian official.
Iran May Allow Oil Tankers Through Strait Of Hormuz, But There‘s A China Catch
Iran is reportedly considering a new approach to manage oil tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world‘s most critical energy routes. According to a senior official who spoke to CNN, Iran may allow a limited number of oil tankers to pass through the strait, but only if the oil cargo is traded in Chinese yuan.
Macron warns of renewed friction with U.S., urges E.U. to use ‚Greenland moment‘ to push reforms
“World markets are increasingly wary of the U.S. dollar. They’re looking at alternatives. Let’s offer them European debt,” Macron said, adding that Europe’s democratic institutions were a major asset for investors at a time when the U.S. was “drifting away from the rule of law.”
The E.U. used joint debt in 2020 to re-boot the European economy after the COVID-19 pandemic, but French attempts to make such tools permanent have faced stiff resistance from Germany and other more frugal northern member states.
Stocks, dollar take tariff hit; gold gets safety bid
In currency markets, the euro recovered from an early dip to rise 0.3% to $1.1628, while sterling clawed its way back up to $1.3389.
The dollar eased 0.4% against the Swiss franc to 0.7988 francs, and 0.2% against the yen to 157.80.
Iraqi parliament calling to ditch US dollar for oil trade
(01.02.2024)
Washington imposed sanctions on Iraqi Al-Huda Bank this week, under claims of laundering money for Iran. Several other banks have been hit with similar sanctions over the past year.
The statement came the same day a senior US Treasury official said Washington expects Baghdad to help identify and disrupt the funds of Iran-backed resistance factions in Iraq.
War on Gaza: OIC and Arab League must back South Africa‘s ICJ case on Israel
Beyond material progress and architectural marvels that rival ancient wonders, a truly progressive state is marked by its commitment to accountability and justice – a domain where some established democracies have faltered.
After enduring a harrowing 85 days of bombardment resulting in nearly 22,000 killed, including more than 8,000 children and 6,000 women, 1.9 million displaced and the collapse of the health infrastructure, South Africa, a signatory of the Genocide Convention has finally called upon the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to examine the crisis.
This long-awaited step reflects a crucial recognition of the international community‘s role in conflict resolution and human rights protection.
Argentine Markets React With Optimism to Milei Election
(22.11.2023)
Argentina‘s stock market reacted with optimism Tuesday to the resounding election win by libertarian Javier Milei, despite the country being gripped by uncertainty over what changes the self-described ‚anarcho-capitalist‘ will bring.
Chainsaw-wielding Argentine election winner pledges ‚shock therapy
(November 21, 2023)
Argentina‘s president-elect used to carry a chainsaw as a symbol of his planned cuts but has shelved it in recent weeks to help boost his moderate image.
Dollar steady as Fed‘s Powell says higher rates may be needed
(August 25, 2023)
Powell, in a speech at an economic summit in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, said policymakers would „proceed carefully as we decide whether to tighten further,“ but also made clear that the central bank has not yet concluded that its benchmark interest rate is high enough to be sure that inflation returns to the 2% target.
The BRICS countries aim to knock the dollar off its throne
Dethrone the dollar, the symbol of Western hegemony. As ambitious as it is complex, this objective will be one of those addressed at the summit of BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) from Tuesday, August 22 to Thursday, August 24 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The heads of state in attendance (South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, his Chinese and Brazilian counterparts Xi Jinping and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov) will also be discussing the expansion of their bloc to include other countries, particularly African ones.
Argentina‘s anti-establishment candidate Milei engages IMF in economic talks after shock primary win
(August 18, 2023)
“We are not going to default on either the IMF nor sovereign debt,” Milei told the IMF officials, according to a message posted on social media by Darío Epstein, one of the candidate’s key economic advisers.
Milei also laid out his Liberty Advances party platform for Argentina’s economy to IMF officials, including “a significant fiscal adjustment, more significant than the one demanded by the IMF,” according to a statement issued by the candidate’s campaign.
The Untold Story Behind Saudi Arabia’s 41-Year U.S. Debt Secret
(May 31, 2016)
The basic framework was strikingly simple. The U.S. would buy oil from Saudi Arabia and provide the kingdom military aid and equipment. In return, the Saudis would plow billions of their petrodollar revenue back into Treasuries and finance America’s spending.
It took several discreet follow-up meetings to iron out all the details, Parsky said. But at the end of months of negotiations, there remained one small, yet crucial, catch: King Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud demanded the country’s Treasury purchases stay “strictly secret,” according to a diplomatic cable obtained by Bloomberg from the National Archives database.
Saudi Arabia Cuts Holdings of US Treasuries to Lowest Since 2016
(17 August 2023)
Saudi Arabia’s holdings of US Treasuries were distributed among long-term bonds worth $99.83 billion, representing 92.3% of the total, and short-term bonds worth $8.29 billion, accounting for 7.7%.
Saudi Pile of US Treasuries at Six-Year Low in Shift to Risk
(August 16, 2023)
The Gulf country in June sold more than $3 billion in US government debt, offloading the securities for a third consecutive month to bring its holdings to $108.1 billion, according to Treasury Department data. The neighboring United Arab Emirates sold nearly $4 billion.
The Arab Gulf region’s petrostates are seeking out new avenues for investing to get higher returns in a world where a backlash is building against the hegemony of the US dollar.
Fed Raises Interest Rates to 22-Year High, Leaves Door Open for More
(26.07.2023)
The quarter percentage-point hike, a unanimous decision, boosted the target range for the Fed’s benchmark federal funds rate to 5.25% to 5.5%, the highest level in 22 years.
Macron Says Europe Should Reduce Dependence On US Dollar, Seek ‚Strategic Autonomy‘
(09.04.2023)
But perhaps most notable was his suggestion that Europe needs to reduce its dependence on the „extraterritoriality of the U.S. dollar,“ a line which both Moscow and Beijing have been emphasizing.
„If the tensions between the two superpowers heat up … we won’t have the time nor the resources to finance our strategic autonomy and we will become vassals,“ he said.
‚super‐Europe’
(Nov. 9, 1978)
While the dollar was falling and rising, the Europeans were negotiating a new form of monetary union: the creation of a kind of deutschemark zone in Western Europe. This was no coincidence.
Just as the sovereignty of the nationstate is personified by the ability to create money, so the form and status of international money is an expression of changing power relationships. The events of the last few weeks merely confirm America‘s decline and the growing importance of Western Europe, dominated by West Germany.
Why China is so important for the Russian economy
The Chinese currency, the yuan, has become a major player in Russia’s foreign trade, according to data from the country’s central bank. The share of renminbi in Russia’s import settlements jumped to 23% by the end of last year from only 4% in January 2022. The yuan’s share in export settlements also surged from 0.5% to 16%. At the same time, the two countries have been slashing the share of the US dollar and euro in their bilateral trade.
U.S. Quietly Revises Q4 Inflation Up, Bombshell January CPI On Deck
While the rest of America was gearing up for the Super Bowl Sunday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics revised Q4 inflation numbers higher on Friday.
This is actually huge news.
Preprogrammed algos bought billions in stock off of November and December CPI off of faulty assumptions about inflation going away easily, which sparked the huge rally.
The inflation revisions are a double whammy.
This is the economic buzzword we should all be paying attention to
Over the past year, an alphabet soup of otherwise wonky economic statistics have become household names as American families suffered through the worst inflation in 40 years: CPI (Consumer Price Index), PPI (Producer Price Index), PCE (Personal Consumption Expenditures and ECI (Employment Cost Index).
Stock market news today: Stocks soar as investors look ahead to inflation data
Tuesday‘s CPI reading will come as investors recalibrate expectations for high interest rates will go this year after Fed Chair Jerome Powell implied in a speech last week that the battle against inflation was in its early stages. For much of the year, many were betting the U.S. central bank would pause its interest rate hiking campaign this year.
The Untold Story Behind Saudi Arabia’s 41-Year U.S. Debt Secret
(May 31, 2016)
The basic framework was strikingly simple. The U.S. would buy oil from Saudi Arabia and provide the kingdom military aid and equipment. In return, the Saudis would plow billions of their petrodollar revenue back into Treasuries and finance America’s spending.
It took several discreet follow-up meetings to iron out all the details, Parsky said. But at the end of months of negotiations, there remained one small, yet crucial, catch: King Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud demanded the country’s Treasury purchases stay “strictly secret,” according to a diplomatic cable obtained by Bloomberg from the National Archives database.
Euro forecast to be worth less than a dollar after Christine Lagarde’s ‘kamikaze’ rate rises
He said: “It‘s like the ghost of Trichet has come back and taken over.”
Recession fears driven by soaring gas prices and looming blackouts pushed the euro to a 20-year low of $0.9536 against the dollar in September.
Opec+ oil cut: The birth pangs of a new world order
Riyadh is apparently set on another course. It intends to join Brics and is increasing its cooperation with China, including through its unprecedented consideration of trading oil for yuan instead of dollars. The UAE is also making moves, with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed recently visiting Moscow, and his energy minister saying Russia is irreplaceable in the oil market.