Petrodollar
Panic? China Signs Currency Swap Deal With Qatar and Canada:
By Tyler Durden
November 13, 2014 - The march of global de-dollarization continues. In the last
few days, China has signed direct currency agreements with Canada
becoming North America's first offshore RMB hub, which CBC reports analysts suggest "could double maybe
even triple the level of Canadian trade between Canada and China,"
impacting the need for Dollars.
But that is not the
week's biggest Petrodollar precariousness news, as The Examiner reports, a new chink in the petrodollar
system was forged as China signed an agreement with Qatar to begin direct
currency swaps between the two nations using the Yuan, and establishing the
foundation for new direct trade with the OPEC nation in the very heart of the
petrodollar system. As Simon Black warns, "It’s happening... with
increasing speed and frequency."
As CBC reports,
Authorized by China's central bank, the deal will allow direct business between
the Canadian dollar and the Chinese yuan, cutting out the middle man — in most
cases, the U.S. dollar.
Canadian exporters
forced to use the American currency to do business in China are faced with
higher currency exchange costs and longer waits to close deals.
"It's something the prime minister has been talking about. He wants
Canadian companies, particularly small- and medium-sized businesses, doing more
and more work in China, selling goods and services there," said CBC's
Catherine Cullen, reporting from Beijing.
Sovereign Man's Simon Black has some ominous thoughts on
Canada's move...
It’s happening.
With increasing speed and frequency.
The People’s Bank of
China and the Canadian Prime Minister’s office issued a statement on Saturday
stating that Canada will establish North America’s first offshore renminbi
trading center in Toronto.
China and Canada agreed
on a number of measures to increase the use of renminbi in trade, business, and
investment. And they further signed a 200-billion renminbi bilateral currency
swap agreement.
Moreover, just today,
hot off the presses, the central banks of China and Malaysia announced the
establishment of renminbi clearing arrangements in Kuala Lumpur,
which will further increase the use of renminbi in South-East Asia.
This comes just two
weeks after Asia’s leading financial center, Singapore, became a major renminbi
hub, with direct convertibility established between the Singapore dollar and
the renminbi.
And as Black notes,
everyone is in on the trend. All across the world, the renminbi is quickly
becoming THE currency for trade, investment, and even savings.
Renminbi deposits in
South Korea, for example, surged 55-times in one single year. It’s stunning.
The government of UK
just issued a renminbi bond, becoming the first foreign government to issue
debt in renminbi.
Even the European
Central bank is debating to include renminbi in its official reserves, while
politicians the world over are sounding not-so-subtle warnings that a new
non-dollar monetary system is needed.
Nothing goes up or down
in a straight line. And given how volatile Europe and the global economy
continue to be, the dollar may certainly be in for its surges and bumps in the
coming months.
But over the long-term
it’s glaringly obvious where this trend is going: the rest of the world no
longer wants to rely on the US dollar, and they’re making it a reality whether
the US likes it or not.
And now, no lesser
oil-producing state than controversial Qatar has signed an agreement too..
seemingly opening up the door to Petrodollar panic... (as The Examiner reports)
The petro-dollar system
is the heart and soul of America's domination over the global reserve currency,
and their right to make all nations have to purchase U.S. dollars to be able to
buy oil in the open market. Bound through an agreement with Saudi Arabia and
OPEC in 1973, this de facto standard has lasted for over 41 years and has been
the driving force behind America's economic, political, and military power.
But on Nov. 3 a new
chink in the petro-dollar system was forged as China signed an agreement with
Qatar to begin direct currency swaps between the two nations using the Yuan,
and establishing the foundation for new direct trade with the OPEC nation in
the very heart of the petro-dollar system.
While this new agreement
between China and Qatar is only for the equivalent of $5.7 billion over the
next three years, Qatar becomes the 24th nation to open its Forex market to the
Chinese currency, and solidifies acceptance of the Yuan as a viable option for
the future in the Middle East.
China's central bank
announced Monday that it has signed a currency swap deal worth 35 billion yuan
(about 5.7 billion US dollars) with the central bank of Qatar.
The three-year deal
could be extended upon agreement by the two sides,said a statement on the
website of the People's Bank of China (PBOC).
Also on Monday, the two
sides signed a memorandum of understanding on Renminbi clearing settlement in
Doha. China agreed to extend the RMB Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor
scheme to Qatar, with an initial quota of 30 billion yuan.
The deal marked a new
step forward in financial cooperation between the two countries, and will
facilitate bilateral trade and investment to help maintain regional financial
stability, the statement said. - China Daily
It is perhaps no
coincidence that the term for the new agreement is set for three years, and is
within the exact time frame being predicted by the director of the Finance Institute
under the Development Research Center of the State Council, Zhang Chenghui for
the Renminbi to become fully convertible in the global financial system.
The need for new
markets and a more stable trade currency in Qatar could be tied to a new report
issued last week by French bank BNP Paribas which showed that petro-dollar
recycling has fallen to its lowest levels in 18 years,
signifying that even oil producing nations in the Middle East are finding it
difficult to trust the U.S. dollar, and facilitate its use in trade due to its
depreciation since the advent of the Federal Reserve's massive QE
programs.
Nearly every week now,
China, Russia, or one of the BRICS nations are finalizing agreements that
supersede the old system of dollar trade and reliance on the petro-dollar
system.
And as many countries
begin to reject the dollar due to the exported inflation that is growing in
nations that are relegated to having to hold them for global oil purchases,
alternatives such as the Chinese Yuan will become a more viable option,
especially now that the Asian power has taken over the top spot as the world's
biggest economy.
The demise of Petrdollar
flows...
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