Dollar Hoarding Gone Wild.

[camberiu]

The "modelo" is working!!!!!!



Argentines Are Hoarding 1 Of Every 15 Cash Dollars In The World

With the shadow (or blue) market for Argentina Pesos already devalued by an incredible 50%, it is little surprise that the population is bidding for any store of value. Demand for luxury cars is soaring (BMW sales up 30% in the last 20 months) and Bitcoin activity is often discussed as the population transfer increasingly worthless Pesos into a fungible "currency" or domestic CPI protection; but it is USD that are the most-cherished item (despite a ban on buying USD) as hyperinflation hedges. But as Bloomberg Businessweek reports, a lot of US Dollar bills are tucked away somewhere in Argentina (in stacks of $100 bills since the number in circulation has risen from 58% of the total to 62% since 2008).

 

[sleslie23]

One of the comments on this article: "Good to hear somebody still wants dollars. Guess they haven't heard the news."

Does anyone know the amount of actual printed cash dollars there are in the world?

 

[camberiu]

One of the comments on this article: "Good to hear somebody still wants dollars. Guess they haven't heard the news."

Does anyone know the amount of actual printed cash dollars there are in the world?

I think the issue is that there are lots of people out there out printing the Fed. The Japanese, the ECB, Argentina, etc... So, in the race to the bottom, the dollar is loosing (or winning). That is why the US stock market is going ballistic and gold is plummeting. Everyone who has money is dumping their currencies and running for the dollar, despite Ben Bernake's best efforts to weaken the US currency.

 

[EdRooney]

Well we've got Messi, the Pope and that chick in the Netherlands. We can't be #1 in everything...

 

[sesamosinsal]

One of the comments on this article: "Good to hear somebody still wants dollars. Guess they haven't heard the news."

Does anyone know the amount of actual printed cash dollars there are in the world?

As of May 1, 2013, there were approximately 1.2 trillion USD in circulation.

As far as Argentines not "hearing about the news," that couldn't be truer. If you read Clarin, Infobae, La Nación, well, you're never going to see anything about the price of gold or silver. Heh. Clarín's last article about gold was on 4/16.

The dollar crisis will come. China and many other countries are preparing themselves for it. Google "China currency swap". China has currency swap agreements with almost half of the G20. In 2009, the Governor of the PROC Central Bank called a dollar crisis "inevitable" in an essay he wrote advocating for SDRs to replace the USD in international commerce.

Those Argentines who view dollars as the mechanism to protect their savings will be in for quite a surprise one day. If that day comes sooner than later, perhaps some will be more grateful to CFK than they are now. Wouldn't that be something?

 

[PaulBee]

I agree that US dollars aren´t the safest way to protect wealth. I think some real estate, even in Argentina, is safer and offers a better return than dollars
usually.

 

[ajoknoblauch]

I agree that US dollars aren´t the safest way to protect wealth. I think some real estate, even in Argentina, is safer and offers a better return than dollars
usually.

The dollar may have its risks, but those are far lower than the peso's.

 

[starlucia]

The dollar may have its risks, but those are far lower than the peso's.

Exactly, it's a question of relativity. Just how many savings options does the average Argentine have? USD aren't failsafe (what investment is?), but they are far more stable than the peso, widely accepted throughout the world, more accessible to Argentines than other hard currencies (such as the pound), and a lot easier to squirrel away than precious metals (I don't know anything about buying or selling gold in Argentina, but in the country of inside-job salideras and home invasions, I'd be terrified.) I have Argentine friends that are just as happy with euros as they are with dollars - it's just a matter of which one is easier for them to get their hands on.

 

[EricLovesBA]

The dollar may have its risks, but those are far lower than the peso's.

When the world fiat currency collapse comes, they'll see the folly of their ways. They could have had *substantially* more toilet paper if they had kept their money in pesos.

 

[sleazemerchant]

All this "fall of the USD" talk is beyond premature. The USD will be king at least until if/when China makes the RMB fully convertible AND issues debt on a scale similar to what the US Treasury does. Throughout it's entire history the US has had one currency and has never defaulted on it's debt. Demand for USD will be astronomically high for the indefinite future; want to buy an Apple, IBM, Microsoft, GE, Boeing, Honeywell, Lockeed Martin, McDonald's, Starbucks, or Coca Cola product? (all highly valued added products that the world wants and has to use USD to pay for). Want to invest in among the most liquid and secure (in terms of property rights, clear title,etc) real estate markets in the world? USD required. Take a guess who is among the biggest agricultural commodity exporters in the world? (and is about to become the world's largest producer of oil and gas). For all it's faults, the US economy still is the world's envy for it's unrivaled lineup of valued added and commodity products. The USD isn't going anywhere.