US says it does not have 'good answer' to question on shifts away from dollar

The White House said Thursday it did not have a "good answer" to a question from a reporter concerning a growing number of countries shifting away from the use of the US dollar.

"I'm gonna have to take your question, sir. I don't have a good answer," National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said.

The US dollar has for decades been the reserve global currency, but several countries around the world have begun to move away from it in a process known as de-dollarization. Russia and China have each dropped the dollar for use in bilateral trade, trading in their own currencies instead amid worsening tensions with Washington.

Other nations have sought to either formulate new currencies, sometimes cryptocurrencies, or hold their central bank reserves in gold instead of the dollar.