Saudi sees no Opec switch from dollar

Opec will not consider switching from dollar-denominated oil sales despite the decline in the value of the US currency, the oil minister for the world’s leading crude producer Saudi Arabia said.

Previously cited by the Organization of the Petroleum Countries (Opec) as justification for keeping oil prices high, the weak dollar has sliced heavily into the purchasing power of Opec countries for goods and services from non-dollar economies like the eurozone.

“We do not see much difference in changing to another currency or going to a basket of currencies. Every strategic team has said there is no reason to change,” Ali al-Naimi told a conference at the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London. —Reuters