The Open Outcry: Why Cracks Are Widening in US Dollar Dominance

A volatile U.S. dollar amid broader trade uncertainty has many Canadian investors questioning whether to add or pare their FX hedges. Bipan Rai, managing director of ETF and structured solutions strategy at BMO ETFs, provides a brief history of the dollar’s evolution as the global reserve currency, and his view on where the greenback goes from here. This episode was recorded live on April 22, 2025.

Show link (Spotify): ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/54bsOfP7M4a6IMujUzRyBK⁠⁠⁠⁠

Show link (Apple Podcasts): ⁠⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-open-outcry/id1804618898⁠⁠

Show link (Amazon Music): ⁠⁠⁠https://music.amazon.ca/podcasts/baf10f04-ec7f-4961-8eba-6a23043f4dd4/the-open-outcry⁠

The Bretton Woods system: an international monetary system established in 1944 based on a fixed exchange rate regime where currencies were pegged to the U.S. dollar, which was itself pegged to gold.

Debt ceiling: describes in general the upper limit set on the amount of money that a government may borrow.

The Great Depression: a severe global economic downturn that lasted from 1929 to 1939.

U.S. reserve currency usage information, Bloomberg/BMO Global Asset Management, as of April 30, 2025.

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