Euro to Overtake U.S. Dollar

[marmar]

Euro Notes Cash in to Overtake Dollar
By Ralph Atkins in Frankfurt
The Financial Times

Wednesday 27 December 2006

The US dollar bill's standing as the world's favourite form of cash is being usurped by the five-year-old euro.

The value of euro notes in circulation is this month likely to exceed the value of circulating dollar notes, according to calculations by the Financial Times. Converted at Wednesday's exchange rates, the euro took the lead in October.

The figures highlight the remarkable growth in euro notes since their launch on January 1 2002, three years after the start of Europe's monetary union, which in January welcomes its 13th member - Slovenia, the former Yugoslav republic.

"After the launch, we expected growth to stabilise - but it has continued over five years," Antti Heinonen, head of the European Central Bank's bank notes directorate, told the Financial Times.

Although the ECB does not deliberately promote the international use of the euro, it has become popular in official foreign exchange reserves - even if it is far from challenging the dollar's lead as the most popular reserve currency.

News that euro notes are challenging the dollar may cheer eurozone politicians - even if it partly reflects the currency's strength - but it may have a dark side too. Fast growth in the highest denomination notes, especially the €500 note, has raised suspicions that they are popular among criminals, although the ECB plays down this factor.

By the end of October the $759bn-worth of US dollar notes in circulation was only a fraction ahead of the value of euro notes, converted at exchange rates at that time. ...... (more)

The rest of the article is at: http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/122806E.shtml

[derby378]

1. I thought that happened a long time ago...?

:shrug:

[marmar]

2. It overtook the dollar in actual euro-to-dollar value a while ago.....

but probably not in the total value of all currency in circulation.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

3. It's the up and coming currency, there's no denying that.

The US dollar has become a quaint reminder of times now gone.

[marmar]

5. Yup. .....

Everything must and does change.

[LSK]

4. K&R

This is important folks.

[Toots]

6. The snowball has started to roll downhill.

Bush* has done irrepairable harm....

[shadowknows69]

7. And our only leverage against an eventual Chinese financial fucking

is to get control of the oil fields. Great plan PNAC. Love having all our eggs in one impossible basket.