They are making billions...2Pac said it best, "...instead of a war on poverty, they got a war on drugs so the police can bother me..."
Opec nations earned as much in the first half of this year as they did in the whole of 2007 – thanks both to record oil prices and record production – triggering a big increase in its spending.
Members of the Saudi Arabia-led oil exporters’ cartel took home $645bn (£335bn, €430bn) between January and June, just below the record $671bn they earned last year, according to the US department of energy.
EDITOR’S CHOICE
Price unlikely to spike soon, says Greenspan - Aug-10Petrodollar bonanza offers economic key - Aug-10Iranians in dark over power investment - Aug-10Opec sees future fall in demand for its oil - Jul-11Opec and US fuel figures at odds - Jun-26Saudi pledge fails to cool oil prices - Jun-23At the current pace, Opec nations would earn about $1,245bn this year, a record.
The recent 20 per cent drop in oil prices below $120 a barrel is unlikely to damp the earnings significantly, as higher output will offset the impact.
Industry estimates suggest that Opec production in July hit a record 32.6m b/d. The current oil price, at $116.53 a barrel, is still higher than the first half of the year’s average: $111.1 a barrel.
The flood of petrodollars has boosted Opec’s overseas spending, with imports rising up to 40 per cent from last year’s level.
Binky Chadha, of Deutsche Bank in New York, said that Asian emerging markets were now the primary beneficiaries of oil exporters’ rising trade expenditure, followed by the euro area.
The US, meanwhile, was losing some of its market share.
No comments:
Post a Comment