April 24 (Reuters) – Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Friday that discussions of U.S. dollar swap lines are part of ongoing, routine conversations with countries, including Gulf and Asian allies.
“Additional swap lines can benefit our nation by reinforcing dollar usage and liquidity internationally, maintaining smooth functioning in dollar funding markets, promoting trade and investment with the United States,” Bessent said in a post on X.
He said many of those countries have “pristine” sovereign balance sheets and large dollar holdings.
“I applaud our allies’ foresight and watchful risk management by exploring additional financial buffers during periods of market quiescence,” he wrote. “Extending permanent swap lines can be a major first step in creating new U.S. dollar funding centers in the Gulf and Asia.”
Bessent said on Wednesday that a number of allies in the Gulf region and in Asia have requested currency swap lines from the United States to help deal with energy shocks and other fallout from the Iran war.
(Reporting by Ryan Patrick Jones, Doina Chiacu; Editing by Katharine Jackson)
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