[NYTr] US Dollar "could collapse": The quote we weren't supposed to hear

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

economicdemocracy.org - activ-l - Nov 19, 2007
http://EconomicDemocracy.org

US Dollar "could collapse": The quote we weren't supposed to hear

"In an embarrassing blunder at the meeting in Riyadh, ministers'
microphones were not cut off during a key closed meeting, and [Saudi]
Prince Al-Faisal was heard saying [the US Dollar could collapse...]"

INTRO: You wouldn't know it from reading BBC online, which apparently
wants soothing stories about OPEC not threatening the US dollar (laced
with eyeball-grabbing quotes about Iran saying the dollar is "worthless"
without giving the full context) and you'd still not know that perhaps
the main pillar keeping the US Dollar up, namely OPEC's insisting on
the US Dollar as the only acceptable payment for its oil, is about to
change -- see CNN story below..but even CNN wouldn't tell you what a
microphone accidentally left on at the OPEC meeting revealed: OPEC's
fear that even discussing the possibility of switching from the US
dollar in the official Statement of the OPEC conference could cause a
collapse of the US Dollar (see second story below)

MORE BACKGROUND:

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (AP) -- OPEC will study the weak U.S. dollar's
effect on the oil cartel's earnings and investigate the possibility of
a currency basket, Iran's oil minister said Sunday.

"We have agreed to set up a committee consisting of oil and finance
ministers from OPEC countries to study the impact of the dollar on oil
prices," Gholam Hussein Nozari told Dow Jones Newswires at a rare
heads-of-state OPEC summit.

Iraqi Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahristani also confirmed that the
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries was forming the
committee, which would "submit to OPEC its recommendation on a basket
of currencies that OPEC members will deal with." He did not give a
timeline for the recommendation.

Though a final statement issued Sunday at the end of the summit did
not specifically mention the dollar or a committee, it did say the
oil-producing group would look into ways of improving financial
cooperation.

OPEC will "study ways and means of enhancing financial cooperation
among OPEC ... including proposals by some of the heads of state and
governments in their statements to the summit," OPEC Secretary General
Abdalla Salem el-Badri said, reading the statement. 

.Oil is priced in U.S. dollars on the world market, and the
currency's depreciation has concerned oil producers because it has
contributed to rising crude prices and has eroded the value of their
dollar reserves. Cartel officials have resisted pressure to increase
oil production [because they can't increase it, because of peak oil,
see peakoil.com]  to ease prices.

http://money.cnn.com/2007/11/18/news/international/opec_oil.ap/index.htm?postversion=2007111815

THE FULLER STORY:

The dollar could collapse if Opec officially admits considering
changing the pricing of oil into alternative currencies such as the
euro, the Saudi Arabian foreign minister has warned.

Prince Saud Al-Faisal was overheard ruling out a proposal from Iran
and Venezuela to discuss pricing crude in a private meeting at the oil
cartel's conference.

In an embarrassing blunder at the meeting in Riyadh, ministers'
microphones were not cut off during a key closed meeting, and Prince
Al-Faisal was heard saying:

"My feeling is that the mere mention that the Opec countries are
studying the issue of the dollar is itself going to have an impact
that endangers the interests of the countries.

"There will be journalists who will seize on this point and
we don't want the dollar to collapse instead of doing something good
for Opec."

After around 40 minutes press officials cut off the feed, which had
been accidentally broadcast to the press room.

Prince Al-Faisal added: "This is not new. We have done this in the
past: decide to study something without putting down on paper that we
are going to study it so that we avoid any implication that will bring
adverse effects on our countries' finances."

http://www.thebusiness.co.uk/news-and-analysis/358346/saudi-minister-warns-of-dollar-collapse.thtml

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, with quick support from
Venezuela, had requested that Iran's "concerns over the weak
performance of the US dollar" be mentioned in the summit's concluding
statement.

But Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal warned that it could lead to
a "collapse" in the US currency. The microphone was cut off after
organizers realized the breach.

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/143798.html