“It’s too early to speak of an alternative” to the dollar, Kudrin said in Lecce, Italy, in a television interview today after meeting with finance chiefs from the Group of Eight nations. The fundamentals of the dollar are still in “good shape.”
Russia’s central bank said on June 10 some reserves may be moved from U.S. Treasuries into International Monetary Fund debt, reiterating comments made last month by Kudrin. That drove Treasuries and the dollar lower. Kudrin said yesterday that Russia’s announcement on May 26 to buy $10 billion of IMF bonds did not represent “a significant change” in his country’s stance on the dollar.
The dollar declined against a majority of the most-traded currencies as Brazil and Russia joined China in saying they would shift some $70 billion of reserves from U.S. Treasuries into multicurrency bonds. The dollar’s drop also reflected concern that record debt sales and deficits will erode the value of the U.S. currency.
The dollar dropped 0.4 percent to $1.4016 per euro yesterday, from $1.3968 on June 5. The U.S. currency fell 0.2 percent to 98.43 yen, from 98.64 yen a week earlier. The euro was little changed at 137.89 yen, from 137.81 yen.
Dollar MFV $84.28 with the trend line at $85.00.
