The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that the U.S. capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro may have something to do with concerns about the declining global influence of the "petrodollar."
A Reuters dispatch to The Globe reports that Venezuela's oil output is a modest one million barrels a day.
President Trump aims to revitalize Venezuela's struggling oil industry by engaging U.S. energy companies.
Keeping future U.S. production could impact energy markets and generate more petrodollars, strengthening the U.S. dominance in the global financial system.
The term petrodollar was coined in the 1970s when the U.S. and Saudi Arabia agreed that global oil sales would be denominated in dollars, creating a new source of demand for the greenback and cementing U.S. strategic, economic and political power. It is clear, however, that the power of the petrodollar is on the decline. While the White House may want the dollar's exchange rate to be lower, it is keen to keep its dominance in global markets -- and the recent events in Venezuela could be part of this wider effort. Atlantic Council's Hung Tran says, "The dollar is still the key currency in the oil market, and the U.S. is trying to preserve this."
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