One could say that until 1971 the dollar was backed by gold, and since 1974 it has been backed by oil, and thus by default, the US Military.

In 1974 the US and Saudi Arabia entered into bilateral agreements to price the sale of oil in US dollars.

Since then, most global oil sales have been settled in US dollars.

This has contributed greatly to the dollar becoming the strongest currency in the world.

It has thus been artificially propped up, even during times when it would normally have struggled.

Since late in 2022, a number of countries have begun to trade in currencies other than the US dollar.

It is very possible that this could be the beginning of the end of the petro dollar. What happens next remains to be seen…