I really hate to say I told you so but I did. The Dollar is not worth 3 cents. The fed is propping up the economy and what do you think is next?


TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran has completely stopped selling any of its oil for U.S. dollars, an Iranian news agency reported on Saturday, citing the oil minister of the world's fourth-largest crude producer.

The ISNA news agency did not give a direct quote from Oil Minister Gholamhossein Nozari. A senior oil official last month said "nearly all" of Iran's crude oil sales were now being paid for in non-U.S. currencies.

For nearly two years, OPEC's second biggest producer has been reducing its exposure to the dollar, saying the weak U.S. currency is eroding its purchasing power.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who often rails against the West, has called the U.S. currency a "worthless piece of paper."

Iran stops selling oil in U.S. dollars -report - Yahoo! News UK (http://uk.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20071208/tpl-uk-iran-oil-dollar-02bfc7e_1.html)

I can't wait to hear a Faux news report from Tom Hannity! Talk about losers! The world is tired of the U.S. government implementing our whip saw economy on them. They are tired of debt that can never be paid. They are doing much better without us and we will do much better when we finally realize what the private bankers that run our government have been doing to us also. Time to step up people. Or lose it all.

P.S.
I guess we know now why Bush wanted to nuke them!

YouTube - Lindsey Williams - The Energy Non-Crisis - Part 1 of 8 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbakN7SLdbk)

Well, the IMF will not like this at all!! Hey, IMF! How much for a barrel today?! Bwa Ha HA ha!


South America set to launch bank to rival IMF - Yahoo! News UK (http://uk.news.yahoo.com/afp/20071209/tbs-latam-argentina-bank-5268574_1.html)


Their own corrupt system is eating them... finally! I told you there is a GOD and I think he is just a tad upset with these hucksters!

P.S.
Remember when Saddam Hussein talked about pricing Iraq's oil in euros? "Shock and awe" quietly followed.

I think they should shift to the yuan.

Does this mean Iran is out of the dollar forgery business now ?

This is a geo-political move . They were threatening to do this when the dollar was strong.This was actually a move they made a while ago. 85% of their oil was purchased in Euros or Yen before this move.


What currency will they use ? The Euro ? I know it won't be the rial .The Euro's strength is hurting Europe more than the US .If converted to Euros , the Euro would probably run up to 2-2.5 per $ and their export based economy would start to crumble. Meanwhile while all the chicken-littles are crying about the weak dollar ,US exports increase. That will mean that both the trade and budget deficit (which is already being reduced due to smart tax policies) fall and the dollar will rebound .

Mag,

I'm trying not to laugh, but I'm finding it very difficult.

First of all, do you really believe that the fact that Iran doesn't want to sell oil for dollars means that the dollar is worthless?

Au contrair, mon frer. Iran has been trying to set up its own oil boarse for decades... one that would not accept US dollars. The whole point was that the dollar was so strong that everyone was trading oil in dollars, and Iran wanted to break the USA's hold on the international economy. The fact that they have been working on this for so long is the very proof that the dollar is such a strong currency.

Are you aware, Magprob, that the vast majority of liquid reserves held by other countries are in US dollars? Because despite its apparent weakness to you, the US dollar is widely considered the most stable currency in the world.

Your entire argument is that currencies should be based on a gold standard. How many countries currently have a gold standard?

None. Zero. Zilch. Nada.

So, if Iran is moving away from the US dollar because the US dollar is weak because it is not based on a gold standard, which currency are they planning on using? Because there is currently no gold standard in effect anywhere in the world.

Also, if they plan on trading in any other currency unit, how will that change the fact that something like 66% of the world's economy is linked to the US dollar as of 2006? (BTW, that's up from 59% in 1995, but down from a high of 71% in 1999.) No matter what Iran uses as their currency of choice, that unit of currency is pegged to either the dollar or the Euro... and the Euro is pegged to the dollar anyway.

The value of any currency is determined by what it can purchase. I can go to any store, anywhere in the world, and buy goods for my dollars, and the store-owners will be happy to take my dollars, which are likely more stable than their currency. Ergo, my dollars have value.

Let's assume that Iran decides not to take US dollars anymore. So... our oil traders go out and buy Chinese yen at a rate of 7.4 yuan for 1 dollar. Then they purchase oil at 651 yuan for a barrel. This comes out to $88 per barrel. Ergo, the USA is still able to buy oil at $88/barrel as they do now. How does that change the value of the dollar? The Chinese are quite happy to sell their currency for US dollars, and the amount of oil that our money can buy hasn't changed. All that has happened is that we've added an intermediary step to the process--- whe have to exchange currencies. SO WHAT?! Out currency speculators do that already. How does it change anything? How does it hurt our economy? We are spending the same money and getting the same goods. What's the difference?

Elliot

Exactly right you are, there is no difference. Good point.