Counting the Cost

Black gold in decline?

We examine how the dropping oil prices are impacting the world markets and economies.

The falling oil price is a big factor in the Russian economic crisis, and it goes beyond Russia. OPEC members have said they can live with lower oil prices, but the impact on stock markets has been pretty devastating.

In the last three months, Dubai, Qatar and Saudi Arabia’s markets have entered into what its called ‘bear market’ territory: stocks are down more than 20 percent. Dubai was the world’s best performing market this year and it is now down 34 percent.

And oil is not the only commodity falling. Gas is also struggling, and that will have an effect on a group of Middle East nations, Russia and the United States.

Ghassan Cheyahab, the chief investment officer at SanctaCapital Group says: “We are in a time – more generally in stepping back – of very,very high geo-political tensions and also an emerging market currency crisis. We are having currencies across Africa, Latin America, eastern Europe that are collapsing at this point in time, and people are getting very, very nervous…”

Counting the Cost looks at what the Russian fallout means for the rest of the world – including oil prices and Middle East markets. What does it mean to gas exporters? Is a future crisis looming?