Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said the dollar is in "good shape," further affirming that there's no substitute for the world's reserve currency.

Kudrin rushed to reassure investors of Russia's confidence in the dollar just days after his boss, President Dmitry Medvedev, questioned its global status, joining China's central bank Governor Zhou Xiaochuan in suggesting the world may need another benchmark for settling international debts.

US Treasuries rose for a third day after Russian Finance Minister Comment. Kudrin's comments came after Japanese Finance Minister Kaoru Yosano said his government is confident about the outlook for U. S. Treasuries, helping attract investors after 10? year yields climbed to the highest level in seven months.

Even as some of the leaders of Brazil, China, Russia, and India questioned the dollar's status, the four nations increased foreign reserves by more than $60 bn in May to limit their currencies' gains and support their exports. They now have combined reserves of $2.8 trillion and are among the largest holders of Treasuries. At the end of
2008 the dollar accounted for 64 % of central bank reserves, up from
62.8 % in June 2008, according to the International Monetary Fund in Washington.

Group of Eight finance ministers began drawing up contingency plans for rolling back budget deficits and bank bailouts as the economy shows signs of recovery and investors start worrying about inflation. Policy makers trod a fine line in the knowledge that withdrawing stimulus measures too soon could choke the recovery before it starts, and allowing them to last too long might push up borrowing costs.

Most Asian stocks declined, led by commodity companies, after metals and oil prices fell. Japanese automakers rose as a weakening yen boosted earnings prospects. Indian Stock Market is expected to open weak and continue to remain weak during the day.