by Faisal Islam
. . . Iraqi oil, two-thirds of which is being snapped up by US
companies, can only be paid for in euros.
. . . Soon afterwards, Jordan launched its own bilateral trade scheme with
Iraq, carried out entirely in euros.
. . . Last year, in a little noticed Opec speech to a Spanish Finance
Ministry conference, Javad Yarjani, a senior Iranian oil diplomat,
said: 'It is quite possible that as bilateral trade increases
between the Middle East and the European Union, it could be feasible
to price oil in euros. This would foster further ties between these
trading blocs by increasing commercial exchange, and by helping
attract much-needed European investment in the Middle East.'
. . . 'The Saudis are holding the line on oil prices in Opec and
should they, for example, go along with the rest of the Opec people
in demanding that oil be priced in euros, that would deal a very
heavy blow to the American economy,' Youssef Ibrahim, of the
influential US Council on Foreign Relations, told CNN.
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