Source:
Financial TimesOpec blames oil price surge on weaker US dollar
By Javier Blas and Ed Crooks in Vienna
Published: September 14 2007 03:00 Crude oil prices are higher than in the past partly to compensate for a weaker dollar, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said yesterday.
Crude oil prices surged yesterday to an all-time intraday high of $80.20 a barrel while, at the same time, the US dollar fell to a record low of $1.3927 against the euro. The dollar also fell to a 15-year low against a basket of leading currencies. US West Texas Intermediate was later yesterday at $79.80 a barrel.
Hasan Qabazard, head of Opec's research department, said:
"The oil prices seem to be adjusting to the decline in the value of the US dollar." He added that the dollar weakness was also hurting Opec's economies. "We have to adjust to that," he said. Since 2003, oil prices have risen 150 per cent in US dollar terms but just 78 per cent in euros and 87 per cent in pounds sterling.The European Union is a growing trading partner for Opec members, especially those in the Middle East and North Africa, displacing the US. The trend means Opec's revenues are in dollars while a growing share of its spending is in euros.
Read more:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ae27eeaa-625a-11dc-bdf6-0000779fd2ac.html
We're all paying at the pump for Bush's unwise fiscal policies.
And of course since 2/3 of U.S. oil is domestically produced, our own country's producers (aka Bush's base) are free to mark up their U.S. production prices to match what OPEC sellers are getting.