WASHINGTON, Sunday. — In a decision that will echo through monetary history, President Richard Nixon tonight announced the suspension of the dollar's convertibility into gold, effectively ending the Bretton Woods system of international monetary management established in 1944. The President's dramatic television address, delivered at 9 PM Eastern time, marks the most significant transformation of the global financial system since the Great Depression.

Speaking from the Oval Office, Mr. Nixon declared: "I have directed Secretary Connally to suspend temporarily the convertibility of the dollar into gold or other reserve assets, except in amounts and conditions determined to be in the interest of monetary stability and in the best interests of the United States."

This action formally abandons the gold exchange standard, under which the United States since 1944 has stood ready to exchange gold for dollars at the fixed rate of $35 per troy ounce when presented by foreign central banks. The decision comes after mounting pressure on U.S. gold reserves, which have declined precipitously from $24.6 billion in 1949 to approximately $10.2 billion at present, whilst foreign dollar holdings have swelled to over $50 billion—creating an untenable situation where foreign claims exceed gold backing by nearly five to one.

European finance ministers are expected to convene emergency sessions as markets prepare for unprecedented volatility. The London gold market, due to open Monday morning at 10:30 AM GMT, faces its most turbulent session in peacetime history. Bank of England officials, speaking on condition of strict anonymity, described the situation as "the end of an era" and warned of "fundamental restructuring" in international monetary arrangements.

Federal Reserve Chairman Arthur Burns, in a hastily arranged press briefing, suggested that the decision was "inevitable given the arithmetic of the situation." He noted that the Triffin Dilemma—the conflict between domestic monetary policy and international reserve currency obligations—had become insurmountable. "We face a choice between defending an arbitrary gold price and defending American prosperity. The President has chosen prosperity."

The immediate implications for sterling and other major currencies remain uncertain, though Bank of England officials have indicated they are prepared to intervene to maintain orderly markets. The Deutsche Bundesbank has called an emergency meeting for 6 AM Frankfurt time, whilst the Bank of Japan has suspended foreign exchange trading pending "clarification of the new monetary regime."

City analysts expressed profound concern about the inflationary implications of a pure fiat monetary system. "Without the discipline of gold convertibility, the temptation for monetary expansion becomes overwhelming," noted Sir Geoffrey Whitmore, Chief Economist at Barclays. "We are entering uncharted waters where paper money is backed only by government promise—a dangerous precedent that history suggests leads inevitably to debasement."

Treasury Secretary John Connally, the architect of the new policy, dismissed such concerns as "the dying gasps of gold bugs clinging to 19th-century monetary superstitions." He argued that "the dollar is backed by the full productive capacity of the American economy—worth far more than all the gold ever mined."

The suspension marks the final chapter in the gold standard's long decline. From Newton's establishment of the gold standard in 1717, through the classical gold standard's zenith before World War I, to the modified gold exchange standard of Bretton Woods, gold has anchored international commerce for over two centuries. That era ended tonight at precisely 9:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time.