U.S. Dollar Ends 2016 with Three Straight Quarters of Global Reserve Declines

from Rogue Money:

Last week Rogue Money published an article predicting the outlook for the dollar in 2017 as remaining the singular global reserve currency. Now we will see the numbers which validate that foreigners are bailing on that reserve in record numbers.

Through October of 2016, more U.S. dollar reserves (Treasuries) were sold than bought for the 12 months going back to the same month in 2015, with an unprecedented three quarters in a row now, or seven total months that do not include November and December yet, showing a decline.

Net “acquisitions” of Treasury bonds & notes by “private” investors amounted to a negative $18.3 billion in October, according to the TIC data. In other words, “private” foreign investors sold $18.3 billion more than they bought. And “official” foreign investors, which include central banks, dumped a net $45.3 billion in Treasury bonds and notes. Combined, they unloaded $63.5 billion in October.

In September, these foreign entities had already dumped a record $76.6 billion. They have now dumped Treasury paper for seven months in a row. Over the past 12 months through October, they unloaded $318.2 billion:

The decline in nation’s wanting to hold dollars is two-fold… with economic uncertainty being the primary cause for some selling their dollars to bolster their own currencies. And as more and more countries find opportunities to move away from reliance on the dollar because of the rise of bi-lateral trade, others are exchanging their dollar reserves for currencies like the Renminbi, which in 2016 crossed a critical mass point where they now have over 100 economies trading directly with them and without the need for a reserve medium of exchange.

The latest renminbi (RMB) Tracker figures from SWIFT show the Chinese currency crossing a number of significant milestones.

There are now 101 countries using RMB for payments and the fact that seven new countries – Bolivia, Colombia, Mozambique, Namibia, Kuwait, Georgia and Spain – have “crossed the river” and use it for more than 10% of their direct payments with China and Hong Kong, in comparison with other currencies, reflects the currency’s rising importance in global trade.

The 10% milestone is known as ‘crossing the river’.

According to Vina Cheung, global head of RMB internationalisation at HSBC Asia-Pacific’s liquidity and cash management unit: “More and more countries are ‘crossing the river’ and making use of the renminbi for a meaningful share of their payments.”

“The latest SWIFT data shows the Chinese currency continuing to gain critical mass in global payments. Its inclusion in the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Special Drawing Right basket earlier this month confirms the renminbi’s emergence as a global currency,” she added. “This will be another catalyst for its growing use in trade and investment with China.”

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