China, India ditch dollar for oil. Petrodollar era quietly unravels in 2025

by

THE DOLLAR’S ENERGY DOMINANCE IS DYING — AND 2025 JUST BROUGHT THE FUNERAL CAKE

For 50 years, if you wanted to buy oil, you needed U.S. dollars. No exceptions.

That system — called the petrodollar — helped America print money, run up debt, and still stay powerful.

Not anymore.

In March 2025, China signed LNG deals with the UAE — worth billions — and paid in yuan. No dollars involved.

A month later, India paid for oil from the UAE in rupees. First time ever. The dollar wasn’t even invited.

Brazil and China made a deal to trade directly in reais and yuan.

Their message? “Thanks, but no thanks” to the greenback.

Nigeria renewed a 1.5 billion yuan swap with China in February to boost trade in yuan instead of dollars.

And the shocker: Saudi Arabia, founding member of the petrodollar club, is now considering taking yuan for oil. That’s like Nike asking if Adidas makes shoes in their size.

The U.S. tried to punish China for buying oil from Iran in February with more sanctions.

China’s response? Use the digital yuan — a trackable, sanction-proof currency — and ditch the SWIFT system America controls.

Meanwhile, the BRICS alliance (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) is now actively telling members to stop using dollars and switch to local currencies.

In April, India’s central bank told domestic banks to settle trade with the UAE in rupees and dirhams.

Then on April 1, Saudi Arabia joined Project mBridge — a multinational central bank digital currency platform.

It’s designed to let countries trade directly, without touching dollars or U.S. systems.

Each of these moves alone would be a warning sign.

Together, they’re a global memo: the dollar’s reign in energy is ending.

The U.S. isn’t collapsing. But the world is quietly rewriting the rules — and 2025 is the year the monopoly broke.

Sources: Reuters, Business Standard, CMP, The Star