Often at the mercy of the dollar, emerging countries are looking to insulate themselves from the vagaries of U.S. Federal Reserve policy by shifting to gold—and away from the greenback.
This shift in their currency reserves poses a distinct risk to Americans, who benefit from the willingness of other countries to swap their goods in exchange for U.S. legal tender. If more nations trade among themselves using other currencies such as the Chinese yuan, the U.S. Treasury will be forced by this “de-dollarization” to pay higher interest when borrowing from foreign creditors.
