Oil Breaks $125 a Barrel

Dollar a 'worthless piece of paper,' Iran's president says

(NEWSER) - Calling it a "small and worthless piece of paper,” Iran’s president today urged OPEC's members to drop the depreciating US dollar as its official currency. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad blamed President Bush for the dollar’s decline and its adverse effects. The comments highlight mounting tension among OPEC members, the AP reports. More»

Leaders also discuss North Korea

(NEWSER) - Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda met with Chinese President Hu Jintao in Beijing today, and emerged with a number of deals—including one that will marginalize the US dollar in Asia. The countries agreed to promote direct yuan-yen trades, the Wall Street Journal reports; until now, the money has usually been converted to dollars first. Japan will also hold yuan in its typically dollar-dominated foreign-exchange reserves. More»

Set for biggest weekly plunge since January

(NEWSER) - The dollar’s value today remained near its lowest in three years against multiple currencies, and it’s set for its largest weekly drop since January, Reuters reports. The figures follow the Federal Reserve’s suggestion that it had no immediate plans to tighten its monetary policy, prompting a big sell-off of the dollar. With the dollar index down 0.1%, the euro held close to a 17-month high reached yesterday; it’s poised to break $1.50. The Australian dollar, meanwhile, is near its highest value in 29 years against the US dollar. More»

As US drivers complain, those overseas think we're lucky

(NEWSER) - Gas prices are climbing again, which means people are complaining, which means it's time for a spate of stories showing how relatively cheap gas remains in the US. Here's a rough estimate of world prices per gallon, courtesy of CNN :

• US: $3.53
• Norway: $9.28
• Europe: Between $7.50 and $8 for most, including Britain, Ireland, Italy, France, and Germany.

We survived three years ago, and we'll survive now: 'Chicago Tribune'

(NEWSER) - Everyone is freaking out about $5 gas , but the Chicago Tribune has an idea: Take a chill pill, it asserts in an editorial. "All those bad memories of oil soaring to $147 a barrel three years ago tend to crowd out the vague recollection that, oh yeah, prices came tumbling down just as fast." Fear, not supply and demand, is mostly to blame for the rise in oil prices as we worry that the unrest in the Middle East could "threaten the oil production of Saudi Arabia and other nations that pump far more crude than war-torn Libya." We need to squash the impulse to overreact. More»