KW: Another interesting tit bit from Jim Rickard’s latest news letter

Who Needs Dollars? Russia and India Set Up Trade Deals in Gold

Barely a week goes by without a new announcement by one of the BRICS (the group that includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) about efforts to bypass and replace the U.S. dollar as the preferred currency for trade finance and reserve positions. Two weeks ago China and Russia announced the development of a payments system that bypasses the U.S. dominated SWIFT system and allows settlements without U.S. dollars, free of U.S. interference. Last week the Russian central bank announced they had acquired another 25 tons of gold in March, pushing their total gold reserve position closer to the 2,000 ton level. As this article shows, Russia and India have now announced new bilateral deals involving the export of newly-mined Russian gold to India and the financing of Indian infrastructure projects by Russia. These developments are all part of a larger trend toward gold and alternative payments systems that will soon leave the dollar with the status of just another local currency. It will not be the benchmark global currency it is today.