Brad Setser on the War in Iran and the Future of the US Dollar | Odd Lots

It's possible that the war in Iran could reshape financial flows in significant ways. Perhaps the Gulf states will end up as less desirable places to do business. Perhaps Iran will have a tollbooth at the Strait of Hormuz. Perhaps this episode will accelerate the world's shift away from oil. It's impossible to say. But given the uncertainty, fresh questions are being raised about the existing financial world order, upon the top of which the US dollar sits. On this episode, we speak once again with Brad Setser, the Whitney Shepardson senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. We discuss how the war is already creating new global imbalances, and the degree to which this episode parallels past energy shocks. We also talk about broader trends in reserve management, other factors driving financial flows, and the unique situation facing East Asia, which is seeing a surge in its energy import bills at the same time its making making a fortune selling chips for the AI boom. Read more: US Probes Suspicious Oil Trades Made Before Trump Pivots (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-04-15/us-probes-suspicious-oil-trades-made-before-trump-iran-pivots?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=odd_lots&utm_content=article) China’s $51 Trillion Savings Help Bonds to Outperform During War (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-04-15/china-s-51-trillion-savings-help-bonds-to-outperform-during-war?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=odd_lots&utm_content=article) Only http://Bloomberg.com (http://Bloomberg.com) subscribers can get the Odd Lots newsletter in their inbox each week, plus unlimited access to the site and app. Subscribe at bloomberg.com/subscriptions/oddlots (https://www.bloomberg.com/subscriptions/oddlots?in_source=oddlotspodcast) Subscribe to the Odd Lots Newsletter (http://bloomberg.com/subscriptions/oddlots) Join the conversation: discord.gg/oddlots (https://discord.gg/oddlots) See omnystudio.com/listener (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information. Bloomberg's Joe Weisenthal and Tracy Alloway analyze the weird patterns, the complex issues and the newest market crazes. Join the conversation every Monday and Thursday for interviews with the most interesting minds in finance, economics and markets. Subscribe to Bloomberg Podcasts: https://bit.ly/BloombergPodcasts Check out more Odd Lots: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLe4PRejZgr0MuA6M0zkZyy-99-qc87wKV Get the Odd Lots newsletter via https://www.bloomberg.com/account/newsletters/oddlots And for all things Odd Lots, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/oddlots Visit our other YouTube channels: Bloomberg Television: https://www.youtube.com/@markets Bloomberg Originals: https://www.youtube.com/bloomberg Quicktake: https://www.youtube.com/@BloombergQuicktake #Bloomberg #Podcast #OddLots Visit us: https://www.bloomberg.com/podcasts Follow Bloomberg Podcasts on Twitter: https://twitter.com/podcasts For coverage on news, markets and more: http://www.bloomberg.com/video

Added 23 Jul 2026