they’d listen to this guy:
Sell oil for gold, Mahathir says
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) – Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has told Saudi Arabians they should sell oil for gold, not U.S. dollars, to avoid being “short-changed” by a decline in the U.S. currency
I think it’s high time the Kingdom showed where their loyalties are; with their own people, in whose intrest they should start charging in Euros, or the US who supports the tyrannical regime for their national interest.
If I'm not mistaken Iraq had started selling oil in €uro and Iran was (is?) planning to do the same. One of the reasons USA was not too happy - may cause others to copy.
If I am not wrong, Mahatir has been saying this for a while. He is, somehow, convinced that something is going to happen to US economy, right after the Nov 2004 Presidential elections are over. The (conspiracy) theory goes that the plan for Greater Israel is in full swing, with Iraq's occupation and greater pressure on Syria and Jordan.
The theory further goes that the state of Israel wants all the caucasian Jews to settle in the holy land and the best way to lure them to the holy land is to make things terrible in US. Right after GWB's re-election, the final phase of the plan will be set in motion, where Greenspan (who is a jew?) will let the interest rates go up substantially, which will put pressure on the US economy by reducing the flow of capital, and combined with already high un-employment, the value of US dollar will plummet. It also suggests that the real estate market will see a major collapse next year.
In my view, there are too many pieces of this theory which #1 I don't understand, and/or #2 don't make sense. In any case, there are perhaps a million such theories doing the rounds and those which suggest that the US dollar will substantially lose its value in near future. I met a few very high-profile investment advisors here in the US who are saying to invest in gold, and get out of both the stock market and the real estate, atleast for the next 12 months.
W'Allah o Aalim
I'd lean towards #2, Faisal ;)
Gold is worthless in the sense that Mahathir is thinking of it. The euro sounds nice but I'd wait a few years for the kinks to be worked out. For now just take the hits with the $, but be smart and have a good spread.
Anyway.. does it really make that much of a difference for the House of Saud?? Not in any serious sense I say.
This is all nonsense. There are so many available financial instuments to hedge the value of virtually any commodity, that whether you sell in silver, gold, euro's, dollars, or fairy dust, the very next moment in the market you can have your payment flipped into whatever form you want.
It's all just what flavor of electrons you prefer.
The Saudi's know where their bread is buttered. Without the US, Saddam would have had a palace in Riyadh, and would be overseeing Muslim holy places. The Saudi's are repressive dictators, but they are at least stable and reliable, and for decades this is the best that can be hoped for out of the Mideast.
The Saudi's sell huge amounts of oil all over the far east, increasingly China and Japan. Those countries hold large quantities of US dollars as a result of trade imbalances. China has even pegged it's currency to the dollar. So Saudi's customers other than the US prefer to pay in Dollars too.
Ain't gonna change....
OG, could it be that the buyers stock up on Dollars because the Saudis sell in Dollars?? If the Saudis insisted on being paid in Euros, i'm sure the nations you mentioned will either switch their reserves or at least stock up on some Euros to be able to pay for that oil.. there aren't very many places to shop for Oil and you can't get it from the Internet.. yet ;)
PA,
Countries such as China and Japan hold huge quantities of dollars because of their huge export trade with the US. If oil were PRICED in euros, they would simply work out what todays exchange rate Euros/Dollars, and go into the currency market and sell dollars and buy euros. Here is the counterbalance. The Saudi's would then be holding Euros, and to buy computers, aircraft, food, etc, they would have to sell Euros and buy dollars. As the Saudis are huge investors in US treasury instruments, they would then have to convert euros to dollars to buy the core of thier national savings.
This is one huge headache for the Saudi's, and on every currency transaction there is "slippage", ie, some middleman makes a profit.
The net result of all this is very neutral. There is no real damage to the US, it just sounds good on paper. Iran has been doing this for years and there is no real impact. Remember, even including all that oil, the GNP of all Arab countries COMBINED is less than that of Portugal.
Saudi has a huge population of unemployed young people, who essentially behave like they are trust fund babies, refuse to get jobs, and the jobs that are availble, they are too good to take. Unemployment is over 40% in these categories. Saudi needs to pump all the oil they can to provide the benefits to people that they have grown accustomed to. They have to pump every drop they can.....
With oil prices high, the past few weeks have shown a lot more drilling and exploration activity. This is one way to become less dependent on Middle Eastern oil. A lot more projects become feasble all around the world, and the fear that cheap Iraqi oil will flood the market is now gone, allowing a lot more world wide projects to get funded and go forward.
Russia and their neighbors a pumping like crazy, and they love the high prices. China's GNP grew 9.9% annualized last quarter, and they will be looking for secure and reliable sources of oil. India is creating a strategic oil reserve, and it's economy is perking up too. Meanwhile the European economies are barely showing any sustained growth.
The Saudi's want to play in this economic growth, not alienate their customers. They want to sell as little oil for the highest price possible, to keep their people appeased. And as much as I really do not like the behavior of the Saudi's, at the end of the day the royal family has been close with the US for a long time, and this will not change....
The Saudis would be shooting themselves in the foot with a switchover. They have billions of dollars invested in U.S. bonds, why would they want to wreak havoc on their own investment by leveling the dollar?
Peace Be Upon You!
Greetings & Salutations! Peace be upon you. I wonder why it appears that all Saudis are held accountable for the few who control the money? I’ll bet the average Saudi on the street cares about the Muslim brothers and sisters worldwide and remember they to have Zakat and share with others. Forget the money-changers, they do not speak for each and every man and woman in Saudi Arabia. The U.S. newsmedia controls through “thought-control” and tell you what they want you to believe. 
Sarge Booker
Re: Peace Be Upon You!
Sarge,
try to use the at the beginning of your posts, as it is meant to be recited BEFORE you carry out the task you intend to. The translation of :
“In the name of Allah, most Gracious, most Compassionate”.
