Dollar’s share of global reserves ticks up, but the long-term slide isn’t over

The US dollar’s share of global foreign exchange reserves rose to 57.13% in the first quarter of 2026, up from 56.42% in the final quarter of 2025, according to the IMF’s latest Currency Composition of Official Foreign Exchange Reserves report. Roughly half of that gain came not from central banks actively buying more dollar assets, but simply from the dollar appreciating against other currencies. Total global foreign exchange reserves dipped slightly to $13.10 trillion in Q1 2026, down from $13.15 trillion the prior quarter. The IMF itself was careful to frame the uptick as a valuation artifact rather than a strategic shift. The dollar commanded roughly 71% of global reserves around 1999 and 2000. Today that figure sits near 57%, a decline of about 14 percentage points over roughly 25 years. The OMFIF surveyed 90 central banks and sovereign institutions as of June 2026. A majority of respondents said they plan to reduce their dollar allocations over the coming decade, citing rising political risks as the primary driver. Central bank gold purchases have remained elevated, and by 2025 gold had surpassed US Treasuries as the top reserve asset held by central banks globally. Gold carr...