Currency shares of international debt securities

Financing

U.S. dollarEuroSterlingYenRenminbi

Bonds and notes sold outside the issuer's home market, by the currency they are denominated in. The euro line includes its legacy currencies before 1999. The euro's share is swollen by euro-area borrowers selling euro bonds to one another across borders; the companion chart leaves out bonds in the issuer's own currency.

Classroom exerciseFind the year the euro's share peaked and its latest value. What happened to the euro's share after the euro-area crisis? Then compare with the foreign-currency-only chart: why does the euro look stronger here than there? Teach page

Percent of international debt securities outstandingBIS debt securities statistics, international debt securities issued by residents of all countries, amounts outstanding (BIS data portal, WS_DEBT_SEC2_PUB); Balance of Power calculations.Data through 2026 Q2✓ Checked against BIS data portal, WS_DEBT_SEC2_PUB, 2026-Q2, U.S. dollar 16,274 of 35,096 billion dollars outstanding (46.37 percent), read 24 Oct 2026

Cite asBalance of Power, "Currency shares of international debt securities", data through 2026 Q2. Source: BIS debt securities statistics, international debt securities issued by residents of all countries, amounts outstanding (BIS data portal, WS_DEBT_SEC2_PUB); Balance of Power calculations.

Marked: 1999-01-01 Euro launched
Marked: 2008-09-15 Lehman Brothers fails

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Latest values

Date	U.S. dollar	Euro	Sterling	Yen	Renminbi
2024 Q3	45.92	39.57	8.11	1.15	0.83
2024 Q4	47.87	38.12	7.82	1.07	0.86
2025 Q1	47.26	38.63	7.87	1.08	0.83
2025 Q2	45.42	40.47	7.83	1.05	0.80
2025 Q3	45.69	40.39	7.57	1.00	0.85
2025 Q4	45.72	40.35	7.53	0.95	0.89
2026 Q1	46.19	39.71	7.51	0.92	0.94
2026 Q2	46.37	39.44	7.46	0.92	0.98

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<iframe src="https://balanceofpower.lwilsesamson.com/embed/cycle/international-debt-securities-currency" title="Currency shares of international debt securities" width="100%" height="660" style="border:0" loading="lazy"></iframe>

With: Currency shares of international bonds issued in a foreign currency

Provenance

Passed: usd on 2026-04-01 is 46.37 against 46.37 ± 0.1 (BIS data portal, WS_DEBT_SEC2_PUB, 2026-Q2, U.S. dollar 16,274 of 35,096 billion dollars outstanding (46.37 percent), read 24 Oct 2026)

Inputs

Column	Source	Series key	Status	Data through
`usd_v`	bis	`WS_DEBT_SEC2_PUB/Q.3P.3P.1.1.C.A.A.USD.A.A.A.A.A.I`	live	2026 Q2
`eur_v`	bis	`WS_DEBT_SEC2_PUB/Q.3P.3P.1.1.C.A.A.EU1.A.A.A.A.A.I`	live	2026 Q2
`gbp_v`	bis	`WS_DEBT_SEC2_PUB/Q.3P.3P.1.1.C.A.A.GBP.A.A.A.A.A.I`	live	2026 Q2
`jpy_v`	bis	`WS_DEBT_SEC2_PUB/Q.3P.3P.1.1.C.A.A.JPY.A.A.A.A.A.I`	live	2026 Q2
`cny_v`	bis	`WS_DEBT_SEC2_PUB/Q.3P.3P.1.1.C.A.A.CNY.A.A.A.A.A.I`	live	2026 Q2
`total_v`	bis	`WS_DEBT_SEC2_PUB/Q.3P.3P.1.1.C.A.A.TO1.A.A.A.A.A.I`	live	2026 Q2