BRICS isn’t killing the dollar. The world is learning to live without it

Source: The Economic Times | Original Published At: 2026-10-01 17:32:11 UTC

Key Points

• BRICS aims to reduce reliance on the US dollar by facilitating trade settlements in member countries’ own currencies.
• BRICS has expanded to 11 members plus partner countries, making local-currency settlement a visible part of de-dollarisation.
• Russia and China increasingly use the rouble and renminbi in energy trade, while India and Russia have developed rupee and rouble settlement mechanisms for oil purchases.
• China is promoting the renminbi in energy and trade exchanges to create alternatives to dollar transit and reduce sanctions exposure.
• The US dollar remains dominant, but de-dollarisation is gradually diversifying global reserves and reducing reliance on US Treasury bonds.
• Norway’s sovereign wealth fund proposal to lower government-bond exposure is a signal of diversification rather than an outright exit from the dollar.
• The main risk for the United States is slower foreign demand for US debt amid rising financing needs, not the immediate disappearance of the dollar.