The Bretton Woods system, agreed by 44 nations in July 1944, pegged currencies to the US dollar and the dollar to gold at $35 an ounce for foreign governments.…
44 nations pegged their currencies to the dollar. The US promised foreign governments gold at $35 an ounce.
Dollars piled up abroad until claims on the US exceeded its gold. Gold hit $40 in London.
After a rush into gold, central banks kept $35 among themselves and let the private price float.
In a TV address he suspended dollar-gold convertibility, froze wages and prices and added a 10% import surcharge.
Ten nations raised gold to $38, revalued currencies and widened bands. It lasted just 15 months.
A second devaluation set gold at $42.22. By March the major currencies were floating.
Gold hit a record above $5,500 in January 2026 and traded near $4,182 in mid-October.
No. It still holds 56.70% of global reserves, though gold now outweighs US Treasuries in central bank vaults.
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