The United States dollar (sign: $; code: USD) is the official currency of the United States of America. The U.S. dollar is normally abbreviated as the dollar sign, $, or as USD to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies and from others that use the $ symbol. It is divided into 100 cents.
The U.S. dollar is the currency most used in international transactions and is one of the world's reserve currencies. Several countries use it as their official currency, in many others it is the de facto currency, and it is also used as the sole currency in some British Overseas Territories.
The dollar is also used as the standard unit of currency in international markets for commodities such as gold and petroleum.
The U.S. dollar is the world's foremost reserve currency. In addition to holdings by central banks and other institutions, there are many private holdings, which are believed to be mostly in one-hundred-dollar banknotes (indeed, most American banknotes actually are held outside the United States). All holdings of U.S.-dollar bank deposits held by non-residents of the United States are known as "eurodollars", regardless of the location of the bank holding the deposit (which may be inside or outside the U.S.).
The U.S. dollar is an important international reserve currency along with the euro. The euro inherited this status from the German mark, and since its introduction, has increased its standing considerably, mostly at the expense of the dollar. Despite the dollar's recent losses to the euro, it is still by far the major international reserve currency, with an accumulation more than double that of the euro.