As of the end of 2001, 13% of the identified official holdings foreign reserves were in euro, compared with about 68% for the US dollar and about  5% for the Japanese yen. As a medium-of-exchange and asset vehicle in the foreign exchange markets, the US dollar remains the dominant global vehicle; the euro’s share in global spot trading amounts to about 20%.
Concluding remarks The other speakers on this panel will provide specific information about the current state of play of the euro as an international currency. The evidence they will present will confirm that the euro has emerged as the world’s second most important international currency. Yet, the evidence will also confirm that the dollar is still far ahead of the euro.