Oddbean new post about login | logout It looks like the details I had read are not entirely right. I believe this article describes the true situation. The trend is the same, but the move away from the dollar is less sudden and less formalized than described above. https://mises.org/mises-wire/saudi-arabia-drifts-away-washington-and-dollar
It's true there is no official petrodollar agreement. Just macroeconomic and geopolitical trends. SA worked with the US for protection and arms, but we are not as strong as we used to be and so the benefits are shifting. SA and OPEC don't need the dollar as much as they used to. BRICS is putting pressure on NATO to change the balance of trade in a gradual way. In my view it's not in their interest for the US to spiral out of control, but that doesn't mean it won't happen regardless.