Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Unnecessary War by Erick San Juan

Unnecessary War by Erick San Juan

There is another ongoing clamor that the Filipinos had set their focus on – the reduction on prices of basic commodities as well as the basic utilities, from transport fare to electricity and water. The reason is the continuous drop of oil (and other petroleum products) prices in the world market. There were many reasons and speculations given on why this is happening. And so what is really happening?

“Oil prices seem to irresistibly be moving towards zero, based on expectations of China getting in a major slump, Iranian oil flooding the world markets and all the wild increase of demand over supply, at least this is what they want us to believe. Brent crude fell below $30 a barrel and continues to get cheaper. The value of OPEC oil basket dropped to $ 25 per barrel, the Mexican Pemex has been trading at a loss, losing a dollar for every barrel of oil, Canadian crude fell as low as $15. "Our business is dying at its core" - "Wall Street Journal" quoted the owner of the oil company from Illinois. The newspaper refers to "Barclay’s" analysts, issuing the forecast of costs within industry being reduced by 20%, after they have already fallen by a quarter in the past year.

Schedule of falling oil prices, adjusted in relation to the current fluctuations, has essentially been a straight line since last September, when prices fell from $ 50 per barrel to the current $ 29. What was so momentous that happened in the world market in September? In September, "Goldman Sachs" lowered expectations for the average oil price for 2016, assuming that it will drop to $ 20 a barrel. "Expectations" of "Goldman Sachs" were "whole-heartedly" supported by "Merrill Lynch", "Bank of America" and others.

There you have it - $20, quoted by "Goldman Sachs", was not a forecast. It was the target. Only our own Ministry of Economy is the one that makes forecasts, "Goldman Sachs" , on the other hand, makes the markets. The oil market - is not the market of raw materials. Supply contracts for actual oil makes only 2% percent of the market, the rest - speculative securities, futures and other derivatives. Prices for futures are not determined by supply and demand, but by "expectations". The futures market is completely controlled by the largest US banks. This is the market of expectations, which creates a real "Industry of expectations" using the notorious rating agencies, "independent" experts and the media.” (Source: Mikhail Leontyev in his article Goldman Sachs makes oil prices drop)

But there is more to it than meets the eye. On the other side of the ‘market’ are the other players doing something to counter the trading and speculations of the banksters.

“Russia has just taken significant steps that will break the present Wall Street oil price monopoly, at least for a huge part of the world oil market. The move is part of a longer-term strategy of decoupling Russia’s economy and especially its very significant export of oil, from the US dollar, today the Achilles Heel of the Russian economy.

Later in November the Russian Energy Ministry has announced that it will begin test-trading of a new Russian oil benchmark. While this might sound like small beer to many, it’s huge. If successful, and there is no reason why it won’t be, the Russian crude oil benchmark futures contract traded on Russian exchanges, will price oil in rubles and no longer in US dollars. It is part of a de-dollarization move that Russia, China and a growing number of other countries have quietly begun.

The setting of an oil benchmark price is at the heart of the method used by major Wall Street banks to control world oil prices. Oil is the world’s largest commodity in dollar terms. Today, the price of Russian crude oil is referenced to what is called the Brent price. The problem is that the Brent field, along with other major North Sea oil fields is in major decline, meaning that Wall Street can use a vanishing benchmark to leverage control over vastly larger oil volumes. The other problem is that the Brent contract is controlled essentially by Wall Street and the derivatives manipulations of banks like Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JP MorganChase and Citibank.

The sale of oil denominated in dollars is essential for the support of the US dollar. In turn, maintaining demand for dollars by world central banks for their currency reserves to back foreign trade of countries like China, Japan or Germany, is essential if the United States dollar is to remain the leading world reserve currency. That status as world’s leading reserve currency is one of two pillars of American hegemony since the end of World War II. The second pillar is world military supremacy.” (Source: F. William Engdahl, Russia Breaking Wall St Oil Price Monopoly)

There seems to be a war going on, a war against the petro dollars. Fighting the dollar hegemony on oil thus affecting the US economy and some believe that this could trigger a war. That unnecessary war that will use other countries’ dollars to

keep the military industrial complex afloat.

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