Some analysts are quite pessimistic about the financial future of the United States. Thus, the former Reagan administration economic policymaker, Paul Craig Roberts, believes that an apocalypse is looming over the US dollar. His main point is that the end of the petrodollar may cause a catastrophe in the US financial system. Recently, Saudi Arabia has announced that it is ready to accept payment for oil in currencies other than the US dollar. If all major oil producers and consumers refuse to use the dollar in their settlements, this may have severe consequences for the US economy, the economist warns. Mr. Roberts outlines that this important decision was somehow ignored by the US media despite its significant implications for the country. In particular, the abandonment of the petrodollar will negatively affect the value of the greenback, US inflation, and interest rates. The author explains that “Washington has so abused the dollar’s reserve currency role with sanctions and asset seizes” that many countries are now looking for a substitute. “If Saudi Arabia abandons the petrodollar, the demand for dollars and the dollar’s value will fall. This is a major threat to Washington’s power and to the financial power of American banks,” the economist concludes. Notably, some countries have already started to use their currencies in international settlements to escape Washington’s ability to threaten and punish them. Darlene Casella, a columnist at American Thinker, also supports this view, saying that China’s readiness to buy oil in the yuan could weaken the dollar’s global dominance.
