Azerbaijan `not in talks on replacing dollar` in oil trading
Azerbaijan is not involved in secret talks on
replacing the US dollar with another currency during oil sales,
according to an energy executive.
``Azerbaijan markets oil in the currency that other producing countries are marketing it in,`` said Shahmar Movsumov, Executive Director of the State Oil Fund, the body that holds the South Caucasus republic`s revenues from crude exports.
``Azerbaijan presently sells oil for US dollars, and I don`t believe changes will occur any time soon,`` Movsumov told reporters.
Britain`s The Independent newspaper last week carried a story claiming that the members of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (CCASG) are holding confidential talks with Russia, China, Japan and France on replacing the dollar with another set of currencies in oil sales.
The dollar, weakened considerably after the article written by The Independent`s Middle East correspondent, Robert Fisk, was published. The story quoted unnamed sources from the CCASG states and Chinese bankers in Hong Kong.
According to Fisk, discussions are allegedly underway on proposed sales of crude for Japanese yens, Chinese yuans, euros, as well as gold and the new unified currency of the CCASG states, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait and Qatar.
``Secret consultations have already been held by the finance ministers and the managers of the Russian, Chinese, Japanese and Brazilian central banks to develop a scheme according to which oil will no longer be sold for US dollars. France is also involved in these negotiations,`` Fisk claimed.
The Independent said the US government is aware that these countries` meetings were shrouded in secrecy, but it is unaware of the purposes of those discussions. Otherwise, the U.S. would have long ago ``launched a fight against this international conspiracy``, the article says.
Meanwhile, Russian media have reported, referring to the France Press news agency, that the French economics ministry has termed as ``baseless speculations`` the numerous reports claiming that Paris is in secret talks with a number of countries on refusing to use the dollar as an international means of payment in oil trading.
``These are sheer speculations, and these rumors have absolutely no merit,`` a ministry source told AFP.
Dmitry Pankin, Russian Deputy Minister of Finance, has also dismissed the reports, saying his ministry had not conducted such negotiations.
The issue of halting oil sales for dollars has been raised on several occasions in the past few years, but analysts were quite critical of the idea and were confident that this is unlikely to happen any time soon.
Nonetheless, Iran began exporting its oil for another currency as early as several years ago, mainly using euros. However, the actual price for Iranian oil is still set in dollars.
``Azerbaijan markets oil in the currency that other producing countries are marketing it in,`` said Shahmar Movsumov, Executive Director of the State Oil Fund, the body that holds the South Caucasus republic`s revenues from crude exports.
``Azerbaijan presently sells oil for US dollars, and I don`t believe changes will occur any time soon,`` Movsumov told reporters.
Britain`s The Independent newspaper last week carried a story claiming that the members of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (CCASG) are holding confidential talks with Russia, China, Japan and France on replacing the dollar with another set of currencies in oil sales.
The dollar, weakened considerably after the article written by The Independent`s Middle East correspondent, Robert Fisk, was published. The story quoted unnamed sources from the CCASG states and Chinese bankers in Hong Kong.
According to Fisk, discussions are allegedly underway on proposed sales of crude for Japanese yens, Chinese yuans, euros, as well as gold and the new unified currency of the CCASG states, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait and Qatar.
``Secret consultations have already been held by the finance ministers and the managers of the Russian, Chinese, Japanese and Brazilian central banks to develop a scheme according to which oil will no longer be sold for US dollars. France is also involved in these negotiations,`` Fisk claimed.
The Independent said the US government is aware that these countries` meetings were shrouded in secrecy, but it is unaware of the purposes of those discussions. Otherwise, the U.S. would have long ago ``launched a fight against this international conspiracy``, the article says.
Meanwhile, Russian media have reported, referring to the France Press news agency, that the French economics ministry has termed as ``baseless speculations`` the numerous reports claiming that Paris is in secret talks with a number of countries on refusing to use the dollar as an international means of payment in oil trading.
``These are sheer speculations, and these rumors have absolutely no merit,`` a ministry source told AFP.
Dmitry Pankin, Russian Deputy Minister of Finance, has also dismissed the reports, saying his ministry had not conducted such negotiations.
The issue of halting oil sales for dollars has been raised on several occasions in the past few years, but analysts were quite critical of the idea and were confident that this is unlikely to happen any time soon.
Nonetheless, Iran began exporting its oil for another currency as early as several years ago, mainly using euros. However, the actual price for Iranian oil is still set in dollars.
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