Editing Monetary policy (section)

=== Fixed exchange rates prevailing ===

In 1944, the [[Bretton Woods system]] was established, which created the [[International Monetary Fund]] and introduced a fixed exchange rate system linking the currencies of most industrialized nations to the US dollar, which as the only currency in the system would be directly convertible to gold.<ref>{{cite web |title=About the IMF: History: Cooperation and reconstruction (1944–71) |url=https://www.imf.org/external/about/histcoop.htm |website=www.imf.org |access-date=12 August 2023}}</ref> During the following decades the system secured stable exchange rates internationally, but the system broke down during the 1970s when the dollar increasingly came to be viewed as overvalued. In 1971, the dollar's convertibility into gold was suspended. Attempts to revive the fixed exchange rates failed, and by 1973 the major currencies began to float against each other.<ref>{{cite web |title=About the IMF: History: The end of the Bretton Woods System (1972–81) |url=https://www.imf.org/external/about/histend.htm |website=www.imf.org |access-date=12 August 2023}}</ref> In Europe, various attempts were made to establish a regional fixed exchange rate system via the [[European Monetary System]], leading eventually to the [[Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union]] and the introduction of the currency [[euro]].