Iran oil Bourse

[RufusEarl]

It's been stated that March 28th 2006 was the day Iran was changing the sell of their oil to Euros instead of the greenback.

I haven't been able to find out anything new about this, anyone have any "new news" about this? Does Iran still plan on doing this? Sell oil for Euros instead of greenbacks?

Thanks in advance!

[Tace]

1. Launch of Iranian oil trading hits wall

Oil exchange unlikely to begin till at least midyear

By John Partridge -- Globe & Mail

As the nuclear standoff pitting Iran against the West continues, some conspiracy theorists are more focused on another plan that the Middle Eastern nation is pursuing.

But they are jumping the gun if they still figure Iran is within days of launching a new international oil exchange that would sell its own and other Middle Eastern oil producers' black gold in euros rather than U.S. dollars -- and which, the theory goes, could ultimately torpedo the greenback and the U.S. economy.

Despite repeated reports over the past 18 months or so that the planned bourse would finally open for business on March 20, 2006 -- and go head to head with the New York Mercantile Exchange and the ICE Futures Exchange in London -- the start date has been postponed by at least several months and maybe more than a year.

"In the middle of 2006, we are able to start the bourse," Mohammad Asemipur, special adviser on the project to Iran's Oil Minister, said when reached in Tehran. The plan is to trade petrochemical products first, with a crude oil contract coming last, a rollout that likely will take three years, he said.

(more)

http://informationclearinghouse.info/article12356.htm

[dipsydoodle]

2. Original projected date was the 20th March

Think they've postponed it until the summer.

[tocqueville]

3. several serious sources have debunked that story

among others the official Paris stock-exchange magazine. There is material about it in Asia Times too. Basically serious economists say that it would take all the OPEC counties to swap to the Euro to make a difference. And it's not going to happen now. Besides the story of the Iranian bourse showed up only once in an Iranian magazine and was never reprinted.

[RufusEarl]

4. Thanks for the update and info!

I think i'll keep putting Tuna Under the Bed for awhile anyway, one just can't trust anyone these days.