NEW YORK, JULY 15 (RIA Novosti) – A summit of major emerging “BRICS” economies in Brazil is the latest sign of the decline of the US dollar as the standard global currency for reserves and trading, James Rickards, author of Currency Wars told RIA Novosti.
“We see the BRICS’ desire to shift away from the dollar, a unified Eurozone with a sovereign bond market waiting in the wings and a requirement on the International Monetary Fund to re-liquefy the world when the next financial crisis hits,” Rickards said.
“Put all that together and you see that the dollar’s days are numbered,” he added.
Envoys from Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS) are in Fortaleza, Brazil, for a July 15-16 summit on launching two $100bn BRICS finance organs for funding new roads, power plants and other schemes in emerging economies.
“BRICS share one common goal in that they have all voiced objections to the dollar as the principal reserve currency and the impact of US Federal Reserve policy on emerging markets, which the Fed pays very little attention to,” Rickards noted.
“By shifting its policies, the Fed massively affects foreign currencies and makes it difficult for them to plan investments. BRICS members share a desire to end dollar hegemony. It’s easier said than done, but they’re trying,” concluded the analyst.
The five BRICS states represent about one-third of the global population and a combined economy of some $13.6 trillion. Critics describe a disparate group that delivers much anti-Western rhetoric but little concrete action.
