UN Steps Up Attack On Dollar, Calls for World Currency

After strong criticism of the U.S. dollar in recent weeks from world leaders, the United Nations added more pressure with yet another scathing report calling for a new international reserve currency issued by the International Monetary Fund.

"A new global reserve system could be created, one that no longer relies on the United States dollar as the single major reserve currency," said the UN World Economic and Social Survey for 2010. "The dollar has proved not to be a stable store of value, which is a requisite for a stable reserve currency."

After news of the report hit international media wires, the dollar dropped relative to other fiat currencies. And according to an IMF announcement a few days later, the dollar's share of world reserves dropped to a 10-year low.

The new UN report said that the IMF should be given the authority to print its own fiat currency, claiming that the new system "must not be based on a single currency or even multiple national currencies but instead, should permit the emission of international liquidity such as [Special Drawing Rights] to create a more stable global financial system." SDRs are "assets issued by the IMF with a value based on multiple currencies.