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OPEC: No plan to switch from dollar in oil pricing
Qatar’s Deputy Premier and Minister of Energy and Industry, HE Abdullah bin Hamad al-AttiyahDOHA
Petroleumworld.com 10 30 07Opec, which produces more than 40% of the world’s oil, isn’t considering whether to price crude in anything other than the dollar even after the US currency sank to a record against the euro, Qatar said.
Abandoning the dollar “isn’t yet on the agenda” of the 12-member Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Qatar’s Deputy Premier and Minister of Energy and Industry, HE Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah told reporters at the natural gas conference. Such a change would “need the co-operation of Opec and non-Opec” states, he said.
Opec prices and sells its output in dollars. The dollar fell to a record low against euro yesterday, the weakest since the introduction of the European common currency in 1999.
Opec may consider moving its oil pricing from dollars to a basket of currencies, Reuters reported on Sunday, citing Venezuela Oil and Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez.
The US currency could slide further if the Federal Reserve cuts its main benchmark interest rate later this week, al-Attiyah said.
The dollar’s 8.4% drop this year has had a negative impact on Arabian Gulf economies as “industrial countries are getting a big discount when they buy oil and gas,” al-Attiyah said.
Global crude oil markets are well supplied and the increase in prices is due to “politics,” al-Attiyah said – Bloomberg
Story from Gulf Times 30 10 07
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