The hierarchy of money · after Perry Mehrling

Hierarchy of money

The dollar is the money the system settles in. What it costs, who can borrow it when it runs short, and how many months of imports the periphery can cover are three different facts.

Price
121.4
Fed broad dollar index (January 2006 = 100), 16 Oct 2026.
Access
$0.17bn
Drawn on Fed swap lines, 21 Oct 2026.
Constraint
6.2months
Of imports South Africa's reserves would cover, 2025. Egypt 4.4.

The dollar against a broad basket of trading partners

Price

The dollar against a broad basket of trading partners. 1 series: Nominal broad dollar index. Latest, 16 Oct 2026: Nominal broad dollar index 121.4.

See also: Laurence Wilse-Samson, "Global Finance: A Money View", chapter 11, Foreign Exchange Markets

Index, January 2006 = 100Federal Reserve H.10 nominal broad dollar index via FRED (DTWEXBGS).Data through 16 Oct 2026✓ Checked against Federal Reserve H.10 of 13 Jul 2026, broad index (January 2006 = 100), 8 July 2026, 121.1307

Policy rates at the centre and the periphery

Price
United StatesEuro areaChinaIndiaBrazilSouth Africa

Policy rates at the centre and the periphery. 6 series: United States, Euro area, China, India, Brazil, South Africa. Latest, Sep 2026: United States 3.88%; Euro area 2.50%; China 3.00%; India 5.25%; Brazil 13.75%; South Africa 7.25%.

See also: Laurence Wilse-Samson, "Global Finance: A Money View", chapter 15, Central Bank Operations

PercentBIS central bank policy rates (WS_CBPOL).Data through Sep 2026✓ Checked against FOMC statement of 16 Sep 2026, target range 3-3/4 to 4 percent; BIS reports the midpoint, 3.875

Dollars lent to foreign central banks through Fed swap lines

Access

Dollars lent to foreign central banks through Fed swap lines. 1 series: Central bank liquidity swaps. Latest, 21 Oct 2026: Central bank liquidity swaps 0.2.

Spikes mark moments when the Fed acted as the world's dealer of last resort.

See also: Laurence Wilse-Samson, "Global Finance: A Money View", chapter 16, International Central Bank Cooperation

Billions of U.S. dollars, Wednesday levelFederal Reserve H.4.1 via FRED (SWPT); Balance of Power calculations.Data through 21 Oct 2026✓ Checked against Federal Reserve H.4.1 of 15 Oct 2026, table 1, central bank liquidity swaps, Wednesday level 205 million dollars

How many months of imports emerging-market reserves would cover

Constraint
South AfricaBrazilIndiaTurkeyEgyptNigeria

How many months of imports emerging-market reserves would cover. 6 series: South Africa, Brazil, India, Turkey, Egypt, Nigeria. Latest, 2025: South Africa 6.2; Brazil 8.4; India 7.9; Turkey 5.1; Egypt 4.4; Nigeria 7.1.

Three months is the conventional floor for adequacy.

See also: Laurence Wilse-Samson, "Global Finance: A Money View", chapter 3, The International Dimension; Laurence Wilse-Samson, "Global Finance: A Money View", chapter 21, Emerging Market Finance; African country cards: "The African Economy: The Growth Century"

Months of importsWorld Bank WDI (FI.RES.TOTL.MO).Data through 2025✓ Checked against World Bank WDI, total reserves in months of imports (FI.RES.TOTL.MO), South Africa 2024, 5.671 (last updated 8 Oct 2026)