book with the same title. The phrase oil currency war is sometimes used with the same meaning. In reality, the use of dollars in international oil transactions increases overall U.S. dollar demand by only a tiny fraction, and the dollar's overall status as the major international reserve currency has relatively few tangible benefits for the United States economy as well as some drawbacks. In August 2018, Venezuela declared that it would cease pricing its oil in US dollars and instead use Euros, Yuan and other currencies. In March 2022, media reports suggested that Saudi Arabia was considering whether to price some of its oil sales to China in the Chinese Yuan rather than the US Dollar. On March 23, 2022, Vladimir Putin signed an order forbidding "non-friendly" countries (including European Union countries, the United States and Japan) from buying Russian gas in any other currency besides Russian ruble (although the Russian Finance Ministry reportedly said it would also accept gold or Bitcoin). Gallery of notable examples These images illustrate the diversity of major petrodollar recycling activities, in roughly chronological order: See also Dedollarisation Saudi Arabia–United States relations References Further reading International macroeconomics International finance Petroleum economics Petroleum politics