Oct. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Central banks have been shifting their record reserves into the euro at the expense of the U.S. dollar. Investors may not follow, with America’s saving rate and trade balance data back at levels that prevailed when the European currency was unveiled in 1999.

The CHART OF THE DAY shows the percentage of allocated world currency reserves in dollars has fallen as holdings in euros increased in the past decade, according to quarterly data compiled by the International Monetary Fund. Also tracked are the U.S. personal-saving rate and trade balance as a percentage of gross domestic product.

A second chart shows the Intercontinental Exchange Inc.’s Dollar Index setting lows around the times Bear Stearns Cos. collapsed and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. went bankrupt. Short-term interest rate differentials favor the euro over the dollar, though only by 0.75 percentage point, the data show.

The dollar’s position as the world reserve currency has been called into question since reaching an almost three-year high in March. The currency has been under siege as the Treasury sells a record amount of debt to finance a budget deficit that totaled $1.4 trillion in fiscal 2009 ended Sept. 30.

To contact the writer of this column: Brendan Moynihan in Brentwood at bmoynihan@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: October 12, 2009 01:27 EDT