Tag: Saudi Arabia

  • OPEC to cut oil production further, flips bird to Biden

    OPEC to cut oil production further, flips bird to Biden

    (AP Photo/Anis Belghoul)

    JAZZ SHAW | HotAir

    Back in April, OPEC+ announced cuts to their oil production of up to two million barrels per day. This was done amid fears that a global economic slowdown would reduce demand, further driving down prices (and profits). Because of the shakey energy situation in the United States, Joe Biden sent envoys to ask Arab leaders to reconsider. Now he apparently has his answer from the oil-rich nations. At this week’s annual OPEC+ meeting, Saudi Arabia announced that it would be “voluntarily” reducing production by another one million barrels per day in July and is urging the rest of the alliance to do the same. The move is expected to slow the gradual decrease in the price of oil and the corresponding cost of gasoline at the pump. It’s also a clear sign that Saudi Arabia and their good friends in Iran don’t give two hoots about any guidance from the White House anymore. (Wall Street Journal, subscription required)

    Saudi Arabia said Sunday it would cut 1 million barrels of oil a day as part of a deal between OPEC and its allies after one of the most contentious production meetings in recent years amid concerns over slowing global energy demand.

    Saudi Arabia said the output cut was for July and on top of previously announced curbs, which would be extended until the end of 2024. The United Arab Emirates and some other large producers also extended their previously announced cuts.

    The Saudi announcement came soon after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its Russia-led allies said the group had agreed to stick to current production targets until the end of the year.

    Here is Prince Abdulaziz bin Salma making the announcement.

    https://www.wsj.com/video/watch-saudi-arabia-cuts-oil-output-following-opec-meeting/8F6E12C6-3851-4781-B985-D65BC7B27F80.html

    While it may seem like a distant memory, it was only a few years ago, back in 2019, when the United States was a net energy exporter. We produced all of the oil and gas we needed and were selling quite a bit of it to Europe and other nations. We were cranking out so much natural gas that, at times, the producers were literally giving it away to anyone with a truck capable of hauling it. During the last year of Donald Trump’s presidency, the average price of gasoline actually fell below two dollars per gallon at some points.

    During that same period, Trump managed to forge an alliance between Saudi Arabia and Isreal, putting the Saudis in conflict with Iran. And when Donald Trump wanted a favor from the Saudi royal family, he generally got it. Whether that was because they respected him or they were frightened that he might do something crazy can probably never be known. But the relationship worked.

    Now look where we are today. A couple of months ago, Saudi Arabia restored their ties with Iran, much to the dismay of our allies in Israel. They also established new trade agreements with Venezuela, shoring up the power of that country’s dictator. And when Joe Biden asked the Saudis to increase production to keep gas prices down as we head into the primary season (after promising to turn them into “pariahs” on the campaign trail), they turned around and slashed their oil output further.

    Nobody in OPEC+ respects the United States anymore, and they’re certainly not afraid of us. Why would they be? Meanwhile, we’re struggling to meet our own energy needs while we’re still sitting on some of the largest proven oil and gas reserves in the world. Today’s story offers the perfect intersection between foreign policy and domestic policy in the United States. And both have been equally disastrous under Joe Biden’s tenure. How any sane person can even consider voting for another term for our doddering, pratfalling president is a mystery to me. But here we are. Welcome to life in 2023.

    Original Here

  • Saudi Arabia, Russia sign deal

    Saudi Arabia, Russia sign deal

    Saudi Arabia, Russia sign deal to develop joint military cooperation

    Featured image: Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman sign the deal with Russian Deputy Minister of Defense Colonel General Alexander Fomin.

    Saudi Arabia and Russia on Monday signed an agreement to develop joint military cooperation between the two countries, according to the Kingdom’s deputy defense minister.

    “I signed an agreement today with the Russian Deputy Minister of Defense Colonel General Alexander Fomin between the Kingdom and the Russian Federation aimed at developing joint military cooperation between the two countries,” Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman tweeted.

    Prince Khalid met with Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu earlier in the day to “explore ways to strengthen the military and defense cooperation” between the two countries.

    “We discussed our common endeavor to preserve stability and security in the region, and reviewed shared challenges facing our countries,” he added.
    August 23, 2021 https://english.alarabiya.net/News/gulf/2021/08/24/Saudi-Arabia-Russia-sign-deal-to-develop-joint-military-cooperation

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    Gundlach Warns US Is On A “Roadmap To Losing Global Reserve Currency Status”

    DoubleLine Capital Founder & CEO, Jeffrey Gundlach, sat down with Yahoo Finance’s Julie LaRoche yesterday for a lengthy interview discussing the outlook for the US Dollar, the economic recovery, currencies, and Fed expectations… among other things.

    As usual, the new bond king was not shy of expressing his strong opinions, warning that:

    “We’re running our economy in a way that is almost like we’re not interested in maintaining global reserve currency status.”

    Gundlach noted that in the aftermath of the pandemic, the strongest economy “by far” has been China, not the US.

    “China’s made no secret of the fact that they want to be a global player and have at least a seat at the table of global reserve currency status,” he said, adding that China has “made no secret of the fact that they want their military to be dominant, maybe the biggest in the world.”

    Combine this with the fact that the US is “growing debt like crazy,” and it’s clear the dollar is headed towards losing its reserve currency status, Gundlach said.

    “And so as long as we continue to run these policies, and we’re running them more and more aggressively– we’re not pulling back on them in any way– we are looking at a roadmap that is clearly headed towards the US dollar losing its sole reserve currency status.”

    August 24, 2021 – https://www.zerohedge.com/economics/gundlach-warns-us-roadmap-losing-global-reserve-currency-status

    Comment: As the Biden Administrations strrategic ineptness continues to unfold in the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan; allies such as Saudi Arabia are aligning themselves with Russia. Therein, placing the US dollar potentially at risk of losing it’s place as the sole reserve currency.