The Dollar is Alive and Well - Washington Post Letter to the Editor

Staff writer Anthony Faiola has joined countless other journalists and pundits in proclaiming the demise of the dollar "Fading of the Dollar's Dominance,". His argument covered well-worn ground; it reported on what officials are saying but provided little information about what they're doing.

There's no evidence that central banks have diversified away from the dollar. In the second half of last year, as the financial crisis became acute, China increased its Treasury holdings by more than a third; it continued to amass U.S. currency through the first quarter of this year. Russia, Brazil and India also have been consistent buyers of U.S. Treasury notes.

Those countries are determined to accumulate financial reserves, and there's no clear alternative to the depth and breadth of the U.S. Treasury market.