(Isn't this one of the reasons we killed Hussein?): China Readies Yuan-Priced Crude Oil Benchmark Backed By Gold

Submitted by Amanda Matthews on Mon, 09/04/2017 - 11:09pm

China Readies Yuan-Priced Crude Oil Benchmark Backed By Gold

The world’s top oil importer, China, is preparing to launch a crude oil futures contract denominated in Chinese yuan and convertible into gold, potentially creating the most important Asian oil benchmark and allowing oil exporters to bypass U.S.-dollar denominated benchmarks by trading in yuan, Nikkei Asian Review reports.

The crude oil futures will be the first commodity contract in China open to foreign investment funds, trading houses, and oil firms. The circumvention of U.S. dollar trade could allow oil exporters such as Russia and Iran, for example, to bypass U.S. sanctions by trading in yuan, according to Nikkei Asian Review. To make the yuan-denominated contract more attractive, China plans the yuan to be fully convertible in gold on the Shanghai and Hong Kong exchanges.

But according to analysts who spoke to Nikkei Asian Review, backing the yuan-priced futures with gold would be appealing to oil exporters, especially to those that would rather avoid U.S. dollars in trade.

“It is a mechanism which is likely to appeal to oil producers that prefer to avoid using dollars, and are not ready to accept that being paid in yuan for oil sales to China is a good idea either,” Alasdair Macleod, head of research at Goldmoney, told Nikkei.

http://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/China-Readies-Yuan-Pri...

I read many times that the straw that broke the camel's back when it came to Hussein was that he wanted to open the spigots and release more crude and he wanted to get rid of the petrodollar as the only currency used in the petroleum market. And that was absolutely unacceptable to the US petroleum industry. And they had the right guy in office to see that the Iraqis paid for their arrogance. Hence SHOCK & AWE. (Every time I use that phrase I feel ashamed for my poor country.)

Well here we are in September of 2017. The Middle East is a bloody mess. Terrorism is world-wide, we've bankrupted our poor country and as citizens, we've lost most all of our civil rights along with any self-respect we may have had as a nation. Not to mention the rest of the countries on the planet think (rightly) we are the biggest threat to peace in the world. And for fucking what?? To prevent what the Chinese are going to do now? This was bound to happen eventually. Too bad we set the world on fire trying to prevent it 14 years ago.

EDIT: added 'used' and out/out and added video

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Submitted by dervish on Tue, 09/05/2017 - 12:00am
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"Obama promised transparency, but Assange is the one who brought it."

Submitted by Amanda Matthews on Tue, 09/05/2017 - 1:02am
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@dervish

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Submitted by Wink on Tue, 09/05/2017 - 1:02pm
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@dervish
of leftover General Taos Chicken in the morning.

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the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.

Submitted by Ellen North on Wed, 09/06/2017 - 9:27am

@dervish

Hasn't China been on the to-nuke list for a very long time, along with all other non-economically-captured countries capable of withstanding conventional attacks? That being why nuclear deterrence is necessary to try to hold off the the bullies in the room - even for poorer countries like certain parts of Pakistan who've already been battered flat and again viciously threatened by the US Psychopaths That Be?

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Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.

A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.

Submitted by apenultimate on Tue, 09/05/2017 - 12:21am

The one thing that will absolutely topple the United States is when the dollar is no longer the ultimate currency in the world. I widely expect the Yuan to be that new currency, and this may be the first step to that end.

The reason? All the growth is currently in China, and the size of the population. I still think their economy isn't quite yet at a maturity level to really take off--they've overbuilt a lot in their cities, and future growth areas are kind of questionable. But perhaps finance and energy is where it will happen.

I don't actually think this is a bad thing, although the powers that be in the West (USA, Canada, Europe) are fighting (and will continue to fight) tooth and nail to keep it from happening. What will happen is these powers will lose a lot of influence in the world, and those in China will gain. The population in the US will lose income and wealth and will move closer to the population in China, which will gain until they surpass that of the US.

What the powers that be are doing now, politically and economically, is just hastening this transition.

But, China shouldn't get too comfortable. There is another country that has the potential to upend them in the future. One with a large population, lots of energy and innovation. The majority of visas are going to the young entreprenuers from this country right now. In 50 years, they may be on top.

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Submitted by thanatokephaloides on Tue, 09/05/2017 - 2:04am
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@apenultimate

But, China shouldn't get too comfortable. There is another country that has the potential to upend them in the future. One with a large population, lots of energy and innovation. The majority of visas are going to the young entreprenuers from this country right now. In 50 years, they may be on top.

And their cuisine is tastier, too!

Wink

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"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar

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Submitted by Wink on Tue, 09/05/2017 - 1:07pm
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@apenultimate
right here at home rather than ship it elsewhere there would be no need to worry about China. Or anybody else. But karma's a bitch.

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the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.

Submitted by Song of the lark on Tue, 09/05/2017 - 1:52am
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Setting up a pan African gold sovereign. Anyway both dead now.

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Submitted by Amanda Matthews on Tue, 09/05/2017 - 9:33am
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@Song of the lark @Song of the lark

Iraq: Baghdad Moves To Euro

Baghdad's switch from the dollar to the euro for oil trading is intended to rebuke Washington's hard-line on sanctions and to encourage Europeans to challenge it. But the political message will cost Iraq millions in lost revenue. RFE/RL correspondent Charles Recknagel looks at what Baghdad will gain and lose, and the impact of the decision to go with the European currency.

Prague, 1 November 2000 (RFE/RL) -- Iraq is going ahead with its plans to stop using the U.S. dollar in its oil business in spite of warnings the move makes no financial sense.

Baghdad this week insisted on and received UN approval to sell oil through the oil-for-food program for euros only after 6 November. Iraq had threatened to suspend all oil exports -- about 5 percent of the world's total -- if the body turned down the request http://www.google.com/amp/s/www.rferl.org/amp/1095057.html

A bizarre political statement by Saddam Hussein has earned Iraq a windfall of hundreds of million of euros. In October 2000 Iraq insisted on dumping the US dollar - 'the currency of the enemy' - for the more multilateral euro.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/business/2003/feb/16/ir...

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Submitted by Roy Blakeley on Tue, 09/05/2017 - 2:04pm
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@Song of the lark Ghadaffi info in one of HRC's emails.

https://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2016/01/06/new-hillary-emails-revea...

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Submitted by Roy Blakeley on Tue, 09/05/2017 - 2:08pm
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@Song of the lark Ghadaffi was also a strong Pan Africanist, another reason that the US hated him. We like to keep countries weak and easy to dominate. A strong Pan African union was seen as very problematic.

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Submitted by The Wizard on Tue, 09/05/2017 - 6:45am

Russia is one of the three big oil producers and has been writing contracts with China, the world's largest importer, in yuan. Russia replaced Saudi Arabia as China's largest supplier. S.A.refused to not trade in dollars, but is in the process of reconsidering. It makes no sense for China to trade in dollars, since China is the world's largest importer of natural resources and the largest exporter of manufactured goods. Time to cut out the superfluous middle man.

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Capitalism has always been the rule of the people by the oligarchs. You only have two choices, eliminate them or restrict their power.

Submitted by Meteor Man on Tue, 09/05/2017 - 8:33am
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Yep. China:

As a result of these changes, China’s economic power is rapidly rising. Its domestic market is growing fast, and could soon be the largest in the world. And because the Chinese government can control access to that market, it can increasingly exert its influence in Asia and beyond. At the same time, China’s declining dependence on export-led growth is reducing its vulnerability to the whims of those who control access to global markets.

https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/china-in-the-global-economy...

In the category of WTF?

Uruguay’s efforts to legalize marijuana could represent a sea change in drugs policy in a region that is being ripped asunder by the global narcotics trade. If successful, it could go viral as other countries, including Canada, set out to legalize marijuana. But if big global banks like Santander, Citi and Bank of America get their way, the scheme will be snuffed out before it even has a chance to make a difference.

Because global bankers love narco-terrorist business:

But that may not be their only motive. There are also the huge profits that can be reaped from laundering the proceeds of the global narcotics trade. According to Antonio María Costa, the former Under-Secretary of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, over $350 billion of funds from organized crime were processed by European and US banks in the wake of the global financial crisis.

https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2017/09/global-banks-sabotage-uruguays-e...

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Submitted by Song of the lark on Tue, 09/05/2017 - 9:10am
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@Meteor Man that's less that 2 hours currency trading on the forex ( foreign exchange ) market. It trades 24/7 globally.

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Submitted by Amanda Matthews on Tue, 09/05/2017 - 9:43am
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@Meteor Man
going. Because it is very very good for them.

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I'm tired of this back-slapping "Isn't humanity neat?" bullshit. We're a virus with shoes, okay? That's all we are. - Bill Hicks

Politics is the entertainment branch of industry. - Frank Zappa