Anja Brüggen
- 11 June 2025
- THE INTERNATIONAL ROLE OF THE EURO - SPECIAL FEATUREThe international role of the euro 2025Details
- Abstract
- This special feature uses new data collected by ECB and IMF staff from over 120 countries to examine trends in global trade invoicing currency patterns up to 2023. The analysis reveals several key insights: the US dollar and the euro remain the most prominent primary invoicing currencies, together accounting for over 80% of global trade invoicing. While the US dollar serves as a global vehicle currency, the euro's role as a vehicle currency is particularly significant in Europe and parts of Africa. Despite some growth, the renminbi's share in global trade invoicing remains very low, at less than 2%, although it is increasing in the Asia-Pacific region and in some parts of Europe. Finally, this special feature presents some evidence of a relationship between shifts in invoicing currency patterns and geopolitical alignment, especially since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. This evidence is most marked for certain countries which have distanced themselves geopolitically from the West, such as Russia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, where the share of exports invoiced in the US dollars and euro was 10-50 percentage points lower in 2023 than in 2015-19.
- JEL Code
- F14, F31, F44 : International Economics→Trade→Empirical Studies of Trade
- 11 June 2025
- THE INTERNATIONAL ROLE OF THE EURO - BOXThe international role of the euro 2025Details
- Abstract
- The box examines gold demand by the official sector and its relationship to geopolitics. In 2024, gold prices reached historical highs while central banks accounted for over 20% of global gold demand in 2024, in contrast to around one-tenth in the 2010s. Empirical evidence suggests that both diversification and geopolitical hedging purposes drive central banks’ demand for gold.
- JEL Code
- E58 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit→Central Banks and Their Policies
F31 : International Economics→International Finance→Foreign Exchange
F33 : International Economics→International Finance→International Monetary Arrangements and Institutions
F51 : International Economics→International Relations, National Security, and International Political Economy→International Conflicts, Negotiations, Sanctions