OPEC members question US dollar oil pricing

OPEC members Venezuela and Iran want oil transactions to use the euro instead of the US dollar. But OPEC general secretary Abdalla Salem El-Badri has expressed skepticism at the proposal.

“The euro is still not dominating the world’s trading enough that we will shift from the dollar to the euro,” he said. But he said “there is a debate in every member country” over the possibility of changing currency for oil trading.

A shift away from the dollar for oil trading among members of OPEC would be a good topic to discuss at the group’s next meeting, Iran’s OPEC governor said Wednesday.

Muhammad Ali Khatibi said “it is a good issue” to debate when the organization meets in December in Luanda. Khatibi said he had received no indication that the matter would be on the agenda. “It depends on the decision of the ministers,” he added.

Tags:  Iran, oil pricing, OPEC, OPEC members, US dollar, Venezuela