Currencies

Listen to this article Heavy is the head that wears the crown. After eighty years at the centre of the global monetary system, the United States is rebelling against its own ‘exorbitant privilege’, as former French president Valery Giscard d’Estaing famously put it. Printing the reserve currency means that the United States can effectively run trade deficits forever. But from another point of view, it also means that it is obliged to do so, since the world demand for dollars exceeds what an economy of its size would ordinarily supply...

Edward Lotterman President Donald Trump has backed off from his threats against Fed Chair Jerome Powell. He has softened his tone on trade with China, alternately suggesting he would be “flexible” and “very nice” and yet also repeating threats. China has not yet budged from its harsh first responses. All this appears to be a reaction to changes in financial markets. Prices of stocks and bonds, along with long-term interest rates, have oscillated up and down in response to the daily verbal sallies from the White House. Prices of major...

Listen to this article Recent events in Washington have renewed long-standing questions about the future of the international monetary system. The Trump administration has sent conflicting signals about its preferences and intentions about the dollar, with some US officials having written or spoken of the advantages of a significantly weaker dollar exchange rate and an exorbitant burden on the US economy from the dollar’s reserve-currency role. At the same time, US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose more tariffs on countries whose governments actively seek to encourage and create...

Everybody knows the importance of Social Security, regular 401(k) contributions, and good health to achieving a secure retirement. Less clear is the role the U.S. dollar plays in financial readiness for life after work.The dollar is more than just a form of payment used by Americans to purchase gas, buy a beer at the bar or pay the credit card bill. It is one of the most reliable currencies in the world, a status that has benefited American retirees for generations.Since the end of World War II, the U.S. dollar...

In 2023, India added nearly USD 58 billion to its forex reserves, reversing the trend from 2022, when the reserves saw a cumulative decline of USD 71 billion. India’s foreign exchange reserves rose by USD 8.310 billion to reach USD 686.145 billion for the week ending April 18, 2025, according to official data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). This marks the seventh consecutive weekly increase in reserves. The reserves had earlier witnessed a slump for nearly four months after touching an all-time high of USD 704.89 billion...

Listen to article ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Saturday announced that it has initiated a deal with President Donald Trump-backed World Liberty Financial to accelerate the journey towards legally adopting digital currencies, in a move that might follow a slew of legal changes to inch towards the crypto world. The Ministry of Finance made the announcement following separate meetings between the World Liberty Financial (WLF) delegation and Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar. The deputy prime minister is taking keen interest in promotion...

The Trump administration is pressuring trading partners to Buy American — American energy, defense and agricultural products, that is, and as The Wall Street Journal reports, many anxious global leaders, eager to placate the commander in chief and avoid a prolonged trade war, have voiced support for the idea. However, just as foreign leaders are saying they’ll buy American goods and services, foreign investors, from Japanese pensioners to European mutual funds to state actors are Selling American — specifically American stocks, corporate debt and, worryingly, the treasury bonds America relies...

Top 10 Highest valued currency in the world in Rupees: The United Nations officially recognises 180 currencies used across 195 countries. While widespread use and popularity are common traits among many currencies, they don’t always correlate with their value or strength. True currency strength lies in purchasing power: the quantity of goods, services, or foreign currency a single unit can secure.A range of local and global factors determine a currency’s value, including supply and demand in foreign exchange markets, inflation rates, domestic economic performance, central bank policies, and the overall...

The naira strengthened against the dollar on Friday across various foreign exchange (FX) markets, buoyed by improved liquidity, a development that echoes the World Bank’s recent affirmation of the local currency’s growing stability. At the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM), the naira closed the week steady at N1,599.54 on Friday, marking the end of the four trading days, according to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). This figure reflected a slight improvement when compared to the previous week’s closing rate of N1,599.79. In the parallel market, often referred...

On the sidelines of the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank this week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent tried to convey an important message about the United States dollar.Speaking to a crowd of global policymakers, regulators and investors, Mr. Bessent sought to allay fears that had ballooned in recent weeks about the dollar’s global standing and the country’s role as the safest haven during times of stress. He reiterated that the administration would continue to have a “strong-dollar policy” and affirmed that it would remain the currency...