Saudi Arabia Commits To Keeping The Price Of Oil Below $100 A Barrel

Prince Alwaleed: Saudis Won't Let Oil Top $100
In a live interview with CNBC's Maria Bartiromo, Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud, Chairman of Kingdom Holding Company, talks about the price of oil and whether Iran might follow through with its threat to close to Straits of Hormuz.

Saudi Arabia Will Not Let Oil Go Above $100: Prince -- CNBC

An "element of fear" is playing into the price of oil despite higher supply and decreasing demand, Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal al Saud told CNBC Monday.

Bin Talal, the billionaire member of the Saudi Arabian royal family who runs the Kingdom Holding Co., said the fear comes from "what may happen with Iran and the possibility of closing the Hormuz Strait."

But Saudi Arabia has already said it will not let the price of oil, which closed Monday around $97 a barrel, go above $100, bin Talal said.

"We can use our leverage, our excess capacity to be sure to pump more [oil] if needed so it will not impact the consumer countries while they’re getting out of their recessions slowly but surely," the prince said.

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My Comment: Granted that Saudi Arabia has a lot of influence on the price of oil, and their commitment to keep the price below $100/barrel is reassuring. But .... if the Iranians want to play hardball .... even threatening Saudi oil fields .... couple this with Venezuela's unstable leader and pro-Iranian sympathies, Nigeria's war against oil rebel groups like MEND, Iraq still being unstable, Libya's oil facilities not up to speed .... the price of oil will escalate to $150/barrel if not higher .... Saudi Arabia or no Saudi Arabia.