If you’re still doubting the dollar’s importance in every day use, you probably have to wait another year before people start entertaining that argument. The latest numbers from SWIFT this week shows that global payments are still very much all being done with the greenback and this snapshot is quite compelling evidence of that:
h/t @ jsblokland
The standout points in the snapshot above is that the euro’s share of global SWIFT payments have dropped to a new low while the Chinese yuan’s share has improved to even surpass the Japanese yen – the first since January 2022. That makes it the fourth most used global currency behind the pound, euro, and dollar.
The yuan’s share improved to 4.6% in November and that is quite an improvement from below 2% when it started off back in January this year. Adding to that, the yuan’s share of payments for trade finance rose to 5.7% in November and that sees it surpass the euro (5.6%) as the second-most used currency for global trade finance.
Both currencies of course still pale much in comparison to the dollar in this space, which continues to hold a share of more than 80%.
So, while we are seeing some interesting shifts among other major currencies, the dollar continues to stand tall on its own. It holds nearly 45% of all global SWIFT payments, making it still the runaway leader as the most used global currency.