Free Republic

Did you know that central banks bought more gold last year than any year in the past 55 years—since 1967? Though most don’t realize it, 1967 was a significant year in financial history, mainly due to the events at the London Gold Pool. The London Gold Pool was an agreement among central banks of the United States and Western European countries to stabilize the price of gold. The goal was to maintain the price of gold at $35 per ounce by collectively buying or selling gold as needed. However, in 1967 the London Gold Pool collapsed due to a shortage...

If the Chinese yuan were to become the global reserve currency, it would, in essence, give the CCP the ability to cripple entire nations.In July 1944, 44 delegates from Allied countries came together during World War II in Bretton Wood, New Hampshire. The goal? Devise an international currency system to manage foreign exchange that would disadvantage no country and effectively facilitate post-war rebuilding and commerce. The outcome: The U.S. greenback would be the world’s reserve currency.It has been almost 80 years since, and all nations have been better off with a United States dollar-dominated world. World gross domestic product (GDP)...

Summary Existing scholarship has not systematically examined BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) as a rising power de-dollarization coalition, despite the group developing multiple de-dollarization initiatives to reduce currency risk and bypass US sanctions. To fill this gap, this study develops a 'Pathways to De-dollarization' framework and applies it to analyze the institutional and market mechanisms that BRICS countries have created at the BRICS, sub-BRICS, and BRICS Plus levels. This framework identifies the leaders and followers of the BRICS de-dollarization coalition, assesses its robustness, and discerns how BRICS mobilizes other stakeholders. The authors employ process tracing, content analysis, semi-structured interviews, archival research, and...

Beijing launched a crude oil futures contract denominated in the Chinese yuan on March 26, in a move that could significantly enfeeble the international influence of the United States dollar. The contract lets foreign investors buy and sell crude oil on the Shanghai International Exchange with yuan rather than dollars. Reuters said it “kicked off to a roaring start,” with 15.4 million barrels of crude changing hands in the 2½ hours of the first day of trading. A Blow to the Dollar “This could be a death blow for an already weakening U.S. dollar, and the rise of the yuan...

The highly anticipated yuan-backed crude oil futures have been launched in Shanghai. China is the world’s biggest oil consumer, with eyes on rival benchmarks Brent and WTI as well as the US currency. Trading of the new oil futures contracts for September settlement started on the Shanghai International Energy Exchange at 440.20 yuan ($69.70) per barrel, reports Chinese daily the South China Morning Post. Some 18,540 lots have reportedly been sold and purchased so far. long-awaited step evoked a surge in global prices for oil with Brent Crude soaring to $71 a barrel for the first time since 2015. US...