Will the Dollar’s Days of Glory End?

By Scott Horton

What would happen if the world markets began to move away from the dollar as a reserve currency? Reuters reports:

A U.N. panel will next week recommend that the world ditch the dollar as its reserve currency in favor of a shared basket of currencies, a member of the panel said on Wednesday, adding to pressure on the dollar…. Russia is also planning to propose the creation of a new reserve currency, to be issued by international financial institutions, at the April G20 meeting, according to the text of its proposals published on Monday.

It has significantly reduced the dollar’s share in its own reserves in recent years.

The silver lining for the United States might be better control over its own economic policy:

United States was concerned that holding the reserve currency made it impossible to run policy, while the rest of world was also unhappy with the generally declining dollar. “There is a moment that can be grasped for change,” he said. “Today the Americans complain that when the world wants to save, it means a deficit. A shared (reserve) would reduce the possibility of global imbalances.”