U.S. Dollar Plunge, Oil Price Slide Brunei Could Face Hard Times
By Ignatius Stephen

Bandar Seri Begawan - Brunei could be in for some sobering times as the US dollar plunges and the world oil price shows the beginning of a slide.

Regional currencies including the Brunei dollar gained against the greenback over the past week as the US dollar fell amid persistent concern about the US economy, according to global news agency reports.

That means Brunei will get less money in real terms because the sultanate's oil exports are calibrated in US dollars.

Brunei currently exports about 300, 000 barrels of crude oil a day and about 200 shipments of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) a year which are the country's mainstay.

International oil price reports say that US crude futures fell 31 cents to US$28.83 cents easing back after gains of more than US$1 last week,

Benchmark Brent crude oil lost 49 cents to US$25.61 a barrel.

Oil prices have slumped 25 percent since early March as the worst fears of widespread war damage to Iraq and other Gulf oil exporters have failed to materalise.

However a spate of suicide bombings across the Middle East has now stemmed the loses, as dealers see heightened risks in the region that supplies 40 percent of world oil exports, says reports.

In the currency market the US dollar was at 1.72220 Singapore dollars on Friday, compared to 1.7376 previous week.

Exporters in Singapore which features the US as its No 1 market has expressed alarm.

Brunei dollar is traded at par with the Singapore currency and similarly Brunei would also be affected in its oil and gas export earnings, which is conducted in US currency.

Price of LNG is also tied to the international oil prices.

Meanwhile Brunei delivered 203.5 shipments of LNG last year, which is a record, said Dato Haji Hamdillah, Managing Director Brunei LNG Sdn Bhd in an interview with Radio Television Brunei this week.

Brunei also exported LNG to the United States and Europe for the first time, he added.

The oil and gas industry remains the biggest sector in Brunei, bringing in a major portion of Brunei's revenue, he said.

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