The United States dollar (symbol: $; ISO code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and its territories. It is issued by the Federal Reserve System, the country's central bank, which manages monetary policy and controls the supply of currency in circulation. The dollar is subdivided into 100 cents. The US dollar functions as the world's primary reserve currency, meaning that foreign governments, central banks, and international institutions hold substantial dollar-denominated assets as a store of value and medium for international trade.

The dollar's role in the global economy extends well beyond the United States. A large share of international commodity trade - including oil, metals, and agricultural products - is priced and settled in dollars. The dollar's reserve status derives in part from the 1944 Bretton Woods Agreement, which established the dollar as the anchor of the post-World War II international monetary system, and persisted after the Nixon administration ended dollar-gold convertibility in 1971. The Federal Reserve's monetary policy decisions - particularly interest rate adjustments - carry significant effects for economies worldwide, not only for the United States.

The dollar's purchasing power, exchange rate, and reserve status are subjects of ongoing economic and political debate. Inflation, federal deficits, and US debt levels are frequently cited as factors bearing on the dollar's long-term stability. Some economists and policymakers argue that the dollar's reserve status confers economic advantages - sometimes called “exorbitant privilege” - including lower borrowing costs for the US government and private sector. Others contend that reserve currency status contributes to persistent trade deficits and the hollowing out of domestic manufacturing. See Viewpoint: Reserve Currency Advantage and Viewpoint: Triffin Dilemma.

The Federal Reserve's dual mandate - price stability and maximum employment - shapes its monetary policy decisions, and the appropriate balance between those goals is itself a matter of debate. The degree of Fed independence from political pressure is contested in both academic and policy circles.

There is broad consensus among economists that the US dollar currently functions as the dominant global reserve currency and that Federal Reserve monetary policy has global spillover effects. See Economics Consensus. The causes, durability, and desirability of dollar dominance remain contested. The appropriate targets for inflation, the risks posed by US debt levels, and the likelihood of dollar displacement are subjects of active scholarly and policy disagreement.

• Reserve Currency Advantage - The view that dollar reserve status confers net economic benefits on the United States through lower borrowing costs and global demand for dollar assets.
• Triffin Dilemma - The view that reserve currency status structurally undermines the issuing country's economy by requiring persistent trade deficits to supply global liquidity.
• Dollar Decline - The view that rising US debt, deficit spending, and geopolitical shifts are eroding the dollar's reserve status and long-term purchasing power.
• Dollar Resilience - The view that no viable alternative reserve currency exists and that the dollar's dominance is durable despite fiscal pressures.
• De-dollarization - The view that coordinated efforts by rival powers (particularly China and Russia) and shifts in commodity pricing are accelerating a move away from dollar dominance.
• Federal Reserve Independence - Debate over whether the Federal Reserve should operate free of political direction, and whether its current independence is beneficial or undemocratic.
• Sound Money - The view, associated with Austrian and monetarist traditions, that fiat dollar issuance is inherently inflationary and that commodity-backed or rules-based monetary systems are preferable.

• US Dollar - History
• US Dollar - Debate
• US Dollar - Economics Consensus
• Federal Reserve
• Bretton Woods System
• Inflation
• United States National Debt
• De-dollarization
• International Monetary Fund
• United States of America

1. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. The Federal Reserve System: Purposes and Functions. 10th ed. Washington, DC: Federal Reserve, 2016.
2. Eichengreen, Barry. Exorbitant Privilege: The Rise and Fall of the Dollar and the Future of the International Monetary System. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011.
3. Triffin, Robert. Gold and the Dollar Crisis: The Future of Convertibility. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1960.
4. International Monetary Fund. “Currency Composition of Official Foreign Exchange Reserves (COFER).” IMF Data, 2025. https://data.imf.org/?sk=E6A5F467-C14B-4AA8-9F6D-5A09EC4E62A4
5. Nixon, Richard M. “Address to the Nation Outlining a New Economic Policy: The Challenge of Peace.” 15 August 1971. The American Presidency Project. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/address-the-nation-outlining-new-economic-policy-the-challenge-peace