Saudi Arabia’s Oil-For-Yuan Bid Won’t Threaten the Dollar
In an increasingly divided world it makes sense to look for a good alternative to the greenback. This isn’t one of them.
A fanciful idea.
Photographer: Fayez Nureldine/AFP/Getty Images
Is there a situation more absurd than two of the world’s most dollar-dependent economies promising to free themselves from the exorbitant burden of the dollar?
The Chinese yuan rose Wednesday after Dow Jones reported that Saudi Arabia was in talks with Beijing to price some of its oil sales in that currency, instead of the greenback. At a time when the world appears to be splitting into rival democratic and authoritarian blocs, it’s inevitable that the perennial chatter about the yuan challenging the dollar’s status as the world’s reserve currency should be revived. Such talk has always been fanciful — but it’s even more unlikely right now.