Saudi Arabia's energy ministry refuted rumors of a possible switch away from using the U.S. dollar as a currency in its oil trade, the ministry announced Monday.
The U.S.' proposed No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels Act fueled the rumor that if such an act were to pass, members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) would stop using the dollar for its oil trade.
The No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels Act is legislation that aims to prevent OPEC from coordinating production and influencing oil prices.
Claims that Saudi Arabia is threatening to sell its oil in currencies other than the dollar are 'inaccurate and do not reflect Saudi Arabia’s position on this matter,' the Ministry of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources said via the Kingdom's official state news agency, Saudi Press Agency.
Trading in dollars, which the kingdom has done for decades, 'has served well the objectives of its financial and monetary policies,' the announcement read.
The ministry voiced its commitment to its role as a 'stabilizing force of energy markets,' and said it would not act in a way that would risk 'such a key policy priority through a fundamental change to the financial terms of oil trading relationships around the world.'
By Zeynep Beyza Kilic
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr