Hi,
Which countries currently do not pay OPEC in $US for their oil imports?
Not sure anybody buys oil off OPEC, rather they trade directly with its members.
If the supplier wants to trade on non-USD then their customers will do so.
Across the Eurozone and Asia countries purchasing Iranian oil will buy in Euros or Yen. Believe that Iraq was trading in Euros.
If there is further brinkmanship regarding default on US debt, there is be obviously an impact on the value of USD consequently other OPEC members will weigh up their options of non-USD trading
I seem to remember Iran had already been trading in non-US currency for years as an ordinary protest against American hegemony, not related to the strength of the dollar or flavor-of-the-month US political grandstanding. I could be wrong.
There are two issues I think. In what currency does an oil producing nation quote it’s oil price? What currencies will they take in exchange using the prevailing exchange rate to the quoting currency. It’s hard to imagine any producer would not take dollars, euros, yen, and pounds at least.
Limiting the accepted currency for payment is quite common not just in trading oil, but in all international trade. Why go through the hassle of dealing with multiple currencies and exchange rates when you can get your customers to do the currency trading beforehand?
But is it as big of a hindrance then what it once was, it seems like what used to be a cumbersome process should no longer be.
Because if they’re not paying me in Saudi Riyals, I either have to do another conversion anyway or I have to think about what currencies I’d like to hold the money in. I suspect the Saudis hold investment accounts in all of dollars, euros, pounds, and yen.
Are you a multinational company doing huge trades? The Saudis may hold multiple investment accounts, but oil is still traded in dollars.
Cuba has a standing barter agreement with Venezuela, which stipulates essentially that Cuba sends doctors and teachers to Venezuela in exchange for oil. The motivation behind that deal, however, is not just Cuba’s persistent shortage of convertible currency but also a degree of ideological sympathies between the two countries.