Raise the Hammer

The GCC will launch its common currency named the “Gulf Dinar” soon and the monetary union will be in effect as of 2010. Allready rumours are spread of a Gulf Petroleum Exchange that will trade oil in the Gulf Dinar. This will lead to a loss of the grip on the oil trade for the US and that the dollar will lose its power. When you read news like this it is time to worry:

Gulf oil bourse to open soon

The Gulf Petroleum Exchange will begin operating in the near future, said the Saudi Oil Minister Ali Naimi after a meeting of the GCC sunday.

Ali Naimi said Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council have decided to establish a Gulf Dinar based oil exchange on the Persian Gulf in Dubai, UAE, because “there was no such oil trading body in the region.”

“The GPEX could help many countries transact petroleum under more favorable conditions,” he said.

He did not say exactly when the GPEX oil bourse would open.

The official also said that senior officials from the Oil Ministry and the Gulf Cooperation Council will meet with members of the GCC Energy Commission in the near future to discuss issues related to making the groundbreaking project operational.

Naimi said the Saudi Oil Ministry and a number of other GCC bodies have made large investments in the project.

The oil bourse would transact petroleum, petrochemicals and gas in various non-dollar currencies, primarily the Gulf Dinar. It would also establish a Gulf Dinar based pricing mechanism for oil trading, or oil marker as it is called by traders.

The three current oil markers are all US-dollar denominated.

The two major oil bourses are the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) in New York City and the International Petroleum Exchange (IPE) in London. The Gulf Petroleum Exchange (GPEX) in Dubai would establish a fourth oil marker, denominated by the Gulf Dinar.

By Neville Parker 1 April 2007

Khaleej Times