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The US currency has faced global pressure and lost influence on major world markets, with the help of Donald Trump’s trade policies-which doesn’t care about its devaluation and even welcome it. But the news of the end of its dominion is manifestly exaggerated.
The US dollar registered in the first half of 2025 the largest devaluation in over 50 years, with a It remains 11% In the US Dollar Index, an indicator created by the Federal Reserve (Fed) that measures the strength of currency against borders such as the euro, yen, sterling pound or Swiss frank.
This fall, although not unprecedented, happens at a time of growing economic and political tensions that raise doubts about Hegemony durability dollar as worldwide currency.
The weight of the American currency in currency reserves has been gradually decreased: according to data from the International Monetary Fund, in 2000 represented more than 70%, currently did not exceed 57%Note a.
The lost space was partially occupied by other currencieslike the Chinese Yuan, and especially for goldwhose presence in emerging economies reservations doubled in the last decade, reaching 9%.
Beyond this diversification trend, there was a consistent reduction of the foreign participation in US public debt: Before the 2008 financial crisis, More than half of the titles of the Treasury were in the hands of international investors, a value that Today there is only 30%.
In international trade, The dollar keeps clear predominancebut it starts lose space in strategic sectors like energy, partly due to sanctions imposed on Russiawhich began to be circumvented with the use of local currencies in oil exports.
Instability has been Aggravated by the policies of President Donald Trumpwhich in April announced 10% rates on all imports, plus heavier overflows for specific countries in some products.
This shook the world scholarships And accelerated the sale of US assets: only between March and April this year, foreign investors removed $ 63 billion from the shareholder market from the US, according to Goldman Sachs.
Experts point out that the use of Dollar as a weapon of sanctions economic Mina Global Confidence of investors.
O Russian active freezing after the invasion of Ukraine showed that the Treasury titlestraditionally seen by investors such as “Porto Seguro”, may lose value overnight by political decision. For many central banks, this reality reinforces the incentive to diversification.
Another pressure factor is the High US indebtednesswhich reached 35.4 billion of dollars in 2024, the equivalent to 123% of your GDP.
Also the perspective of cuts in the interest rates by the Fedin a context of political interference by Trump – who even threatened to dismiss leaders of the institution – increases uncertainty about the future of the coin American.
At the same time, economic blocks such as BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), recently expanded with the entry of new members, defend a “DISEALORIZATION” AGENDA.
In the recent summit in Rio de Janeiro, the Brazilian president Lula da Silva argued again that International trade should not depend exclusively from the dollar. China and Russia have promoted alternatives, including digital payment and greater use of national currencies in bilateral transactions.
However, many analysts point out that There is still no viable substitute for the dollar, which continues to be completely dominant in areas such as tradeinternational debt and Swift Network, which connects 11 thousand financial institutions in over 200 countries.
Not even Chinese YuanDespite its recent growth, it has the liquidity and confidence necessary to take the place of the American currency.
Some Trump counselors, as Stephen Miranthey even argue that a weaker dollar could benefit the US industry, making exports more competitive. There are those who speculate that this may be the strategy in part of the current President Trump.
But some renowned economists, such as Kenneth Rogoffunderline that the US commercial deficit has multiple causesand that the devaluation of the currency It will not be a miraculous solution.
Despite signs of erosion, most experts find it premature to talk about “end of the dollar“. The US currency remains the main reference of the global financial system, and even critical countries, such as Russia and China, maintains Most of its dollars operations.
The future may undergo slow diversification of predominant currencies in the currency markets, but for now, The “Dollar King” is still sitting on the throne.
