Oil-enriched Arab Investors Turning Away from U..S Dollar & U.S. Investments

Investors from the oil rich Gulf Arab nations are “eager” to diversify away from the U.S. currency. Reuters reports movement to the Euro and Asia “to invest windfall oil revenue, eager to ride the rise of China and India.” On Monday, Reuters reported that the Dubai International Financial Centre Authority said “More Gulf economies will move away from a dollar currency peg and shift foreign exchange reserves away from dollar to other currencies.”

The articles indicate concern over security and the potential of further attacks in the U.S. They also report that the International Monetary Fund “argued ‘extraordinarily aggressively’ for a correction in exchange rates, above all so as to reduce the massive U.S. current account deficit.” The Chinese yuan and currency of Gulf oil states “should all appreciate” according to the report of the World Economic Outlook due to be published in April. And, the European Central Bank will “not require further interest rate increase.”

According to Reuters there has also been “a marked shift . . . in the types of investments.” The Gulf investors are now investing more in “real estate, infrastructure, telecoms, and banking” rather than “stocks and bonds” after learning the lessons of investing in speculative stocks. This will become seen as a “reverse globalization” where Gulf oil states purchase developed institutions.

Thus, as the U.S. economy falls further into debt, due to the cost of the war and the rising cost of oil, the Middle East and Asia will become wealthier. And, as the dollar depreciates the U.S. consumer will feel the loss of wealth of the United States.