184
Once upon a time, all money had an equivalent - it was secured - in gold, rare metals, and other valuables. But a lot of time has passed since then. The money is provided by state guarantees. Some of them are more stable and popular. Others are less. But the US dollar stands alone among all, and here https://usd.ru.currencyrate.today/rub it can be exchanged for other currencies. And although it has been printed for a long time at the request of the government of this country, it is still the most popular currency in the world.
Main reserve currency
The Second World War significantly weakened all European countries and the Soviet Union. And only the United States of America was able to derive financial benefit from this situation. They were not only able to develop their industry on military orders, but also developed their own financial centers. The dollar remained one of very few stable currencies. And for this reason, it gained popularity in international trade settlements. In addition, post-war Europe was recovering with loans denominated in dollars, since they were issued by banks of the United States.
Over time, the dollar began to be increasingly used by other countries as a reserve currency to store their own monetary reserves. The stronger the US economy became, the more countries preferred the dollar.
This demand for the dollar provides one of its very interesting properties. Despite constant emissions (an increase in the money supply), the dollar is not subject to serious inflation. This is because the money supply is not accumulating within the United States, but in other countries.
Oil dollar
In 1974, the United States signed an agreement with Saudi Arabia that all oil from this region would be sold for dollars. In exchange - guaranteed demand for black gold and military protection of oil fields. An hour later, other countries of the Persian Gulf joined this treaty. And most of the calculations on the oil market began to take place precisely in dollars. Even if the US is not involved in the deal. This is how the petrodollar appeared. And even today, oil on all markets is traded precisely in US dollars. And whoever buys it, all calculations are made in this currency, and only then is the conversion into the currencies of any other countries.
Another feature of petrodollars is their excess mass, which exceeds the needs of the selling country, and must be reinvested in US Treasury securities. Accordingly, in the event of a conflict, the United States can easily restrict access to these assets by their owners. Hence the loyalty to the "strategic ally" up to the loss of sovereignty.
Oil dollars are used not only by OPEC countries, but also by CIS countries. It can be said that the United States receives a certain income from any barrel of oil sold on the international market. This makes the dollar more attractive.
The dollar remains so popular because there is simply no alternative to it yet. As long as the USA remains the No. 1 economy and the strongest superpower, everything will remain as it is. But since the stability of both the country itself and its currency in the future cannot be guaranteed, it is impossible to be sure that a new world currency will not appear.
