In 1971 President Nixon made it inconvertible to foreign central banks as well. 4  BIS central bankers’ speeches  ex ante, into some real asset available in the bank’s inventory. 8 A currency that offers zero exchange services at the margin is a currency without real value, a currency that supports an infinite price level: in effect, a failed currency.
Some of the geopolitical and financial uncertainty we saw last fall has lifted in recent months, and we expect that it will continue to recede. Economic uncertainty in some regions of the world is still a concern. But overall, the risks confronting the world economy now appear to be better balanced than last autumn. And business and household confidence should improve by year-end.