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The Forum > Article Comments > The end of an era: is the US petrodollar under threat? > Comments

The end of an era: is the US petrodollar under threat? : Comments

By Andrew Topf, published 3/11/2014

Recent trade deals and high-level cooperation between Russia and China have set off alarm bells in the West as policy makers and oil and gas executives watch the balance of power in global energy markets shift to the East.

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Maybe, but not so much by the rise and rise and rise of the yuan, but rather, China's huge foreign reserve and mostly as USD!
Moreover China has recently discovered huge new gas reserves and is obtaining coal from neighboring Mongolia, which with the completion of new road and or rail links N.B., (coal is our future Tony) will dominate the Chinese coal market.
Russia has problems of her own, not in anyway sorted by a seizure of significant Ukraine gas and oil reserves in the Crimea.
The recent discovery of huge new oil reserves in Edmonton, has to have the Russians worried, as oil able to be recovered for less than 10 USD a barrel, would literally put them out of the oil business, given that is their lowest possible production costs.
We for our part are lead by the blind leading the sublimely warm and comfortable blind, and still hugely reliant on coal and LNG sales to the world!
While that needs to continue ,FASAP, we need to act with urgent alacrity, to re-energize our own manufacturing and value added export base/industries.
And a can do, given huge reserves of thorium; enough we're told, to power the world for 700 years?
Personally I rather see pure pragmatism prevail and this valuable resource husbanded/used exclusively to provide vastly cheaper Australian industrial energy; for thousands not hundreds of years!
And supporting a completely resuscitated and enduring energy dependent industry base for as far as the inquiring mind can envisage.
Imagine the sales advantages of export commodities, with little or no carbon footprint, or the lowest possible carbon footprint.
After that, there is an increasing need to urgently develop a broad range of alternatives, to completely end for all time, any dependence on a highly manipulated, foreign energy market!
The US ought ignore the east and use its own energy resources, to rebuild it's own manufacturing base, systematically undermined from within by greed or politics, or both and outsourcing.
Ditto defense self reliance!
Threats, real and or imagined must be faced, repulsed/exposed for what they really are!
Rhrosty.
Posted by Rhrosty, Monday, 3 November 2014 10:36:21 AM
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Is the US petrodollar under threat? Probably, or so many commentators would have us believe. The next question is, can that be a bad thing, given the abuse of power indulged in by the US as she has attempted to prop up her assumed role as the unipolar power in today's multi-polar world?
Consider the economic sanctions levied on Russia when Crimea voted to rejoin Russia following the coup in Kiev early this year. And when those first sanctions didn't sunder the EU from Russia quite quickly enough, the new government in Kiev shot down MH17, and the US orchestrated, in an unseemly but unsurprisingly quick fashion, the world's condemnation of Russia for Kiev's black act followed by, wait for it, more sanctions.
The main goals of these sanctions are to break the dependence of the EU on Russian energy and to stop the emergence of the looming Beijing-Moscow-Berlin trade axis.
None of the sanctions aimed at Russia's economy, nor the vengeful treatment of Iran for a non-existent nuclear weapons program, would be possible without the pre-eminence of the US petrodollar.
I don't know what will follow the present order, but like most of the world also tired of being bullied and lied to, I'm ready to listen.
Posted by halduell, Monday, 3 November 2014 11:23:20 AM
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Da sure, You can get people to wote any vich vay, if zay are directed by machine gun toting balaclava wearing assistants, who literally direct zem vere to place zere mark or cross, vith a wery good comrade, ve have you vell trained; and just ignore ze tanks and ze rocket launchers; zey are yust zere for effect!? And, your russian iz improvink!
It said you can even get a horse to stand on one leg and deal cards, if you poke a cattle prod up 'is R's enough times!
And even more intelligent human beings need even less compulsion! Da?
Rhrosty.
Posted by Rhrosty, Monday, 3 November 2014 11:51:39 AM
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"It said you can even get a horse to stand on one leg and deal cards, if you poke a cattle prod up 'is R's enough times!"

I wonder if the same treatment were to be applied to Rhorosty whether we on OLO might be able to get a decent comment from him for a change.

Of course, we'd have to gain entry to the Cavern of the Knowalls first and it is heavily guarded by the likes of Runner and Joe!
Posted by David G, Monday, 3 November 2014 12:29:38 PM
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I'm a contrarian here.

I believe the best thing that could happen to the USA would be the rise of a competitor reserve currency.

It would be even better if it were the Remnimbi. Being the owner of a reserve currency in a COMPETITIVE market restrains military adventurism.

Many of the USA's ills are the result of owning the global currency with no realistic competitors.
Posted by stevenlmeyer, Monday, 3 November 2014 4:36:04 PM
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Not a bad article, despite completely falling for the brainwashing Western media propaganda that Russia ‘grabbed’ Crimea and shot down MH17. (Lots of evidence to the contrary, but forget all that for the purposes of this particular discussion.)

Re threats to the US petrodollar … Saddam Hussein’s administration sought oil contracts with Europe based on Euros not US dollars. But unfortunately, not long after that, the US suddenly realised it needed to invade Iraq over its weapons of mass destruction and because Saddam was a despot that the Iraqi people needed to be rid of – so that was that.

And Moamar Gaddafi’s Libya was in the advanced stages of establishing an African Union of oil-producing states that wanted to trade in the dinar, not the US dollar. But, unfortunately, not long after that, the Libyan people suddenly decided they wanted ‘democracy’ and that Gaddafi was a despot that US-Nato needed to help the Libyan people to get rid of – so that was that.

Now, we have Russia … and … well, you must all know the script by now.
Posted by Killarney, Tuesday, 4 November 2014 4:05:28 AM
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