Saudi Arabia denies plans to ditch dollar in oil sale deals

Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, yesterday denied media reports claiming the kingdom intends to sell its oil in currencies other than the US dollar.

The Saudi Energy Ministry described the reports as “inaccurate”.

“The kingdom has been trading its oil in dollars for decades which has served well the objectives of its financial and monetary policies,” the ministry said.

Reuters reported last week that Riyadh has threatened to substitute the US dollar in oil trading with other currencies if Congress passed the No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels Act (NOPEC).

The ministry affirmed the kingdom’s commitment to its role as a stabilising force in the energy markets, and “its desire not to risk such a key policy through a fundamental change to the financial terms of oil trading relationships around the world”.

Earlier in the day, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih confirmed that the US dollar remains the approved currency for the country’s crude oil tradings.

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Saudi Arabia is the world’s third largest crude oil producer, behind the United States and Russia, with an average production of ten million barrels per day and the largest crude exporter with an average of seven million barrels per day.

In February, the House Judiciary Committee passed NOPEC which empowers the US Department of Justice to file an antitrust lawsuit against OPEC for trying to control oil production or to affect crude prices.

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