Josh Younger Explains Where Eurodollars and Petrodollars Came From
Processing facilities at the Khurais Processing Department in the Khurais oil field in Khurais, Saudi Arabia.
Photographer: Maya Sidiqqui/BloombergDe-dollarization is all the rage right now, with lots of talk about whether the US currency will be able to maintain its dominant status in the global financial system. But regardless of what happens in the future, it's worth asking how we got to this point originally. How is it that the dollar came to dominate not just global trade flows but also become the currency of choice for things like buying oil? And why are there large pools of eurodollars sitting outside the United States? In this episode, we speak with Josh Younger, formerly of JPMorgan Chase & Co. and now a senior adviser at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, about the surprising policy decisions that went into creating eurodollars and petrodollars, and why they matter now. This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.