Why Saudi Arabia Won’t Cut Oil Production
Nine months after OPEC decided to leave its production target unchanged and pursue market share instead of trying to prop up prices, the group is facing a set of complex problems and decisions going forward.
At first blush, the collapse of oil prices and the resiliency of U.S. shale appears to hand OPEC, and its most powerful member in Saudi Arabia, a stinging defeat. U.S. oil production has leveled off but has not dramatically declined. Meanwhile, oil prices are at their lowest levels since the financial crisis and the revenues of OPEC members have fallen precipitously along with the price of crude.
All of that is true, and in fact, Saudi Arabia is under tremendous pressure. The Saudi government is considering slashing spending by a staggering 10 percent as it seeks to stop the budget deficit from growing any bigger. The IMF predicts that Saudi Arabia could run a budget deficit that amounts to about 20 percent of GDP.
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The pain is manifesting itself in different ways. Not only will the Kingdom have to cut spending, but it has also turned to the bond markets in a big way. Low oil prices have forced Saudi Arabia to issue bonds with maturities over 12 months for the first time in eight years, raising 35 billion riyals (around $10 billion) so far in 2015.
At the same time, the currency is coming under increasing pressure. Saudi Arabia pegs the riyal to the dollar at a rate of about 3.75:1, but speculation is rising that the currency may need to be devalued, given that the oil producer won’t be able to defend that ratio indefinitely.
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