Venezuela agrees with Saudi Arabia's decision to abandon WTI benchmark
![]( "Venezuela agrees with Saudi Arabia's decision to abandon WTI benchmark")
Venezuela' oil minister Rafael Ramirez mentioned today that he totally agrees with Saudi Arabia's decision to abandon the West Tax Intermediate (WTI) benchmark which prices oil exported to the U.S. and added that Venezuela may follow the Saudi's suit.
Saudi Arabia decided on November 1 to move away from the benchmark as it said that it doesn't represent the actual supply and demand on the product as the volatility sent the black gold to $148 high while there was shortage in demand as a result of the global recession. Controversially, when prices hit its lowest below $33 a barrel the WTI was too low. Armco, the Saudi national oil company, accused speculators for price fluctuations.
Moreover, Oklahoma is far from the coast which makes oil delivery more difficult compared with global trade that is delivered easier. Such action by Saudi Arabia may break the dominance of NYMEX, especially if it was followed by other oil producers such as Venezuela, Canada, and Brazil that may trace the Saudi Arabia move.