"Third Party" $ trtansactions?

[James Baird <jlbaird3@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hello all,

Forgive me if this is basic, but I haven't seen any
specific discussion of this anywhere and I'd
appreciate some pointers.

I guess the question I have in mind is, "Where do all
the dollars go?"  Does anyone have any figures, even
ballpark estimates, of worldwide dollar transactions
that do not involve a U.S. party?  After all, the U.S.
has been running trade deficits with virtually the
entire world for 20 years now, yet the dollar remains
strong.  Is it just becasue people want to hold dollar
denominated assets for a rainy day, or are there
actual transactions between "third party" countries
that take place in dollars?  For instance, I have
heard that oil prices are "quoted" internationally in
dollars - does this simply mean that the dollar price
in converted into local currencies, or does Japan
actually pay dollars to Saudi Arabia when it buys oil?

Jim Baird


__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! GeoCities - quick and easy web site hosting, just $8.95/month.
http://geocities.yahoo.com/ps/info1