Use of euro in global payments shrinking – Bloomberg

The use of the euro for international settlements declined to its lowest level in three years last month, Bloomberg reported this week, citing data from SWIFT.

Statistics from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications reportedly showed that the proportion of cross-border transactions involving the single currency fell to 31.74% in April from 32.64% during the previous month.

Meanwhile, payments using the US dollar climbed to 42.71% from 41.74% in March, while cross-border transactions with the Chinese yuan soared to the highest level in five months. The proportion of payments made using the Japanese yen dropped to 3.51% in April from 4.78% in the previous month, according to the report.

“The share of the dollar continued to expand following the collapse of several US lenders and concerns around Switzerland’s Credit Suisse Group AG that ultimately led to its acquisition by UBS Group AG,” Bloomberg wrote.

The report indicated that, despite the recent drop, the euro is still the second-ranked currency for international payments on SWIFT.

Meanwhile, the yuan’s use in global trade finance has been steadily growing in line with the government’s efforts to internationalize the use of its currency. The renminbi has been playing a major role in international trade as more and more countries strive to reduce their reliance on the Western financial system, and on the US dollar in particular. Russia and its partners have been increasing the use of local currencies in mutual trade, and are also working to establish a new reserve currency amid Western sanctions on Moscow.

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