As Roosevelt took office the United States was swept by a financial panic which forced him to impose a nationwide bank closure and restrict the export of capital. On 19 April 1933 the United States unilaterally suspended gold convertibility and allowed the dollar to depreciate. Over the next four months the dollar fell by 30 per cent against the Reichsmark. Replicated across the world this delivered a devastating shock to what remained of the international system of fixed exchange rates.
