Iraq News Highlights and Points to Ponder Wednesday AM 11-27-24
Will Iraq Take The Adventure Of Joining BRICS Despite American Risks?
November 27, 2024 Baghdad/Al-Masala: At a time when the US dollar has become more than just a currency, but has become an economic weapon and part of the political hegemony system, voices calling for finding new financial alternatives are increasing.
These calls are gaining momentum in light of the sanctions imposed by the United States on countries that stand against its policies, such as Russia and China.
According to an economic analysis published by a specialized website, this intensive use of the dollar as a pressure tool has prompted the Eastern bloc to intensify its efforts to develop a new global currency that could reshape the economic map.
On the ground, this movement began under the leadership of the BRICS group, which includes Russia, China, India, Brazil, and South Africa.
“The BRICS single currency is not a dream, it is a realistic response to US financial hegemony,” reads a tweet posted by economic accounts. “Cooperation between these countries goes beyond economics to become a strategic political step,” it added. This cooperation comes at a time when relations between the group’s countries are developing rapidly, with China and Russia working together to create a financial force that could weaken the influence of the dollar.
On the other hand, Iraq finds itself in a complicated situation. Although the country has not officially requested to join BRICS, even considering such a move could be fraught with risk.
Informed sources confirmed that Iraq is not prepared to bear an American strike, especially in light of its complex economic relations with the United States.
A tweet by an Iraqi citizen named “Noor Al-Azzawi” expressed this concern by saying: “We are stuck between a rock and a hard place. America will not tolerate any step that might weaken its influence here.”
The statements of the Russian Ambassador to Iraq, Elbrus Kotrashev, came to open a window of hope for Baghdad, as he said: “BRICS is not an alliance against anyone, it is an open group that welcomes everyone.” He stressed that the group does not have hostile intentions, but rather aims to achieve a global economic balance.
As BRICS countries formulate their plans, significant technical challenges arise in unifying payment and currency settlement systems among member states.
An economic analyst named Ahmed Al-Harthi wrote in a Facebook post: “The success of the BRICS currency depends on two main factors: the first is the ability to build a common financial system, and the second is ensuring global acceptance of the new currency.” He considered that the step is not easy, but it is necessary.
The coming years are likely to witness pivotal moves. According to recent reports, China and Russia are closely coordinating with Iran and North Korea to build a financial alliance of countries that see the current financial system as serving Washington’s interests at the expense of the rest of the world. These efforts could be met with greater political pressure and economic sanctions from the United States, making the economic conflict even more complex. https://almasalah.com/archives/106598
The National Union Explains The Reasons For Not Legislating The Oil And Gas Law
Information/Baghdad... Member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, Ghiath Al-Surji, explained the reasons for not legislating the oil and gas law, noting that there is no longer a need to legislate such a law, especially after the issuance of judicial decisions regarding the oil and exports file.
Al-Surji told Al-Maalouma, "The region was waiting for the enactment of the oil and gas law to resolve all the problems related to this wealth between Baghdad and Erbil, but today the situation is different after the issuance of a judicial decision by the Paris Court to stop the export of oil from Kurdistan to Türkiye."
He added, "The international judicial decision, in addition to the Federal Court decision, stipulated that the oil would be owned by everyone, meaning that the authority over this wealth would be in the hands of the federal government in Baghdad."
He explained that "the judicial decision two years ago obliged the region not to export oil to Turkey and made the authority over it under the supervision of Baghdad, so the issue of oil and gas and the legislation of the law related to it will be unnecessary, especially since the judicial decision made the oil revenues under the authority and supervision of Baghdad." LINK
Parliamentary Finance: Amending The Budget Law Will Allow For Changing Useless Paragraphs And Item
Information / Baghdad.. The Parliamentary Finance Committee confirmed, on Wednesday, that any change to the paragraphs of the federal budget will allow for the change of paragraphs and items that have been proven to be ineffective.
Committee member MP Hussein Mounes said in a statement to Al-Maalouma Agency, "Submitting the first reading of the draft law amending the federal budget that was approved for three years (23, 24 and 25) will allow for changing paragraphs and items that have proven to be ineffective."
He added, "The amendment needs a deeper study because that will push us to change the schedules, and thus we will be faced with an increase in the deficit on the one hand and a decrease on the other."
It is noteworthy that the agenda of the House of Representatives included a paragraph discussing the first reading of the draft first amendment to the federal budget for fiscal years 23, 24 and 25, submitted by the Parliamentary Finance Committee. LINK
What Is Iraq's Connection? Goldman Sachs: OPEC+ Cuts May Support Oil In The Short Term
Energy Economy News - Follow-up [rtl]Crude oil production in Iraq, Kazakhstan and Russia has fallen in compliance with OPEC+ production cuts, supporting some upside for Brent prices in the near term, according to a recent note from Goldman Sachs.
The investment bank added in its note issued yesterday, Tuesday, that Saudi Arabia is likely to extend oil production cuts due to the recent decline in prices, and that it now believes that oil production cuts will continue until April 2025 instead of January.
Goldman Sachs maintained its forecast for the average price of Brent crude for 2025 at $76 per barrel.
Two OPEC+ sources told Reuters that the group, which includes members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies including Russia, is discussing another delay to the oil production increase that was scheduled to start in January.
At the group's most recent meeting on November 3, OPEC+ agreed to postpone a production increase scheduled for December for a month.
he bank said that "any increase in OPEC+ production will be gradual and data-dependent."
Goldman Sachs added that the high level of compliance with OPEC+ production cuts indicates that the group's member states are working together to stabilize oil prices.
He said that the production of Iraq, Kazakhstan and Russia decreased by 0.5 million barrels per day in November.
OPEC members are unlikely to backtrack on voluntary production cuts in the near term, executives from global commodity trading giants Vitol, Trafigura and Gunvor told the Energy Intelligence Forum in London.
But despite OPEC+ production cuts and delays to boost output, Brent crude futures have mostly remained in a $70-$80 range this year, trading below $74 on Tuesday.
]Goldman Sachs last week revised its forecast for Brent prices to an average of $80 per barrel this year, despite a supply deficit and geopolitical uncertainty in 2024, pointing to an expected surplus in 2025. https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=50280
Iraqi Oil Falls Again On Third Day Of Trading
Economy |Today Baghdad Today - Follow-up Iraqi oil prices fell on Wednesday (November 27, 2024), after two days of rising during the third trading day of weekly transactions in global markets .
According to data reviewed by Baghdad Today, Basra Heavy crude recorded $68.5 per barrel, while the average recorded $71.20 per barrel, with a change rate of -1.33 for both January 2025 delivery .
The data also showed a significant decline in global crude prices, with British Brent crude recording $72.91, while US West Texas Intermediate crude recorded $68.84 per barrel, with a change rate of -0.10 and -0.07, respectively . LINK
Economist: Non-Oil Revenues To Achieve Significant Growth In 2024
Wednesday 27 November 2024 | Economic Number of readings: 141 Baghdad / NINA / Economic expert Manar Al-Obaidi, a member of the Political Economic Center, announced that the non-oil revenues of the Iraqi state grew during the first nine months of 2024 by 198% to reach the 12.3% barrier of its contribution to the total revenues of the Iraqi state.
Al-Obaidi said in a statement that the total non-oil revenues of the Iraqi state during this period amounted to 14 trillion Iraqi dinars, up from the same period in 2023, which was about 4.7 trillion dinars.
Despite the decrease in the value of revenues resulting from taxes on income and wealth by 17%, the increase in commodity taxes by 275% and the increase in the budget's share of public sector profits by 243% contributed to this significant increase.
He explained that for the first time since 2003, non-oil revenues constituted 12% of total revenues and the contribution of oil revenues decreased to reach 88% of total revenues.
He added that the total revenues until September 2024 amounted to 114 trillion Iraqi dinars, an increase of 19% compared to the same period in 2023, which amounted to 95.85 trillion Iraqi dinars.
The improvement in non-oil revenues is due to the reforms made in the tax and customs file, in addition to encouraging profitable public companies to increase their contribution to government revenues. It is expected that non-oil revenues in 2024 will reach the barrier of 18 trillion Iraqi dinars. Despite the increase in this number,
it is still far from the planned number in the budget, which amounts to about 28 trillion Iraqi dinars. However, this improvement in these revenues reflects the success of the reforms made in the field of collection and work to increase payment through electronic outlets. / End 9 https://ninanews.com/Website/News/Details?key=1171400