<P> Starting in the 1959 -- 1969 administration of President Charles de Gaulle and continuing until 1970 , France reduced its dollar reserves , exchanging them for gold at the official exchange rate , reducing US economic influence . This , along with the fiscal strain of federal expenditures for the Vietnam War and persistent balance of payments deficits , led U.S. President Richard Nixon to end international convertibility of the U.S. dollar to gold on August 15 , 1971 ( the `` Nixon Shock '' ) . </P>
when did the us dollar leave the gold standard
August 15 , 1971