(sourced from
www.currencyfundgroup.com)
In November, OPEC had a meeting and agreed to continue
their output even as demand decreased. This inevitably meant oil prices
dropping by 30% to 45% and closing on $50 per barrel.
This is scary for Malaysia as we are a oil producing
country and this means a big loss for our government revenue. And what does
that mean for Malaysians? Cut backs on government spending and a bleak economy
unless something can be done quickly. Worse is that GST will be implemented
next year in April so double whammy for all of us.
All this was a response by OPEC to the rise of shale oil
production in the United States that is reducing their dependence on oil
imports. Some say the move by OPEC was actually a concerted move to bankrupt
Russia as they fear its aggressive expansion plans after witnessing whats
happening in Ukraine.
Oil prices have tumbled before, and Malaysia has
weathered the storm. But with the current government on a spending binge and no
control in sight i fear our gross debt might just continue to rise.
Update: Outcomes
and Repercussions
I'm going back to this posting above and recap on what
has happened so far due to the drop in oil prices.
Cheaper Petrol for
cars
After discontinuing subsidies, the govt has also reduced
oil prices with RON 95 petrol will be priced at RM1.91 a litre (-35 sen), RON
97 petrol at RM2.11 a litre (-35 sen) and diesel at RM1.93 a litre (-30 sen).
Drop in local
currency
At the start of December our local currency was closing
around RM3.5 to USD1. But now the exchange rate has steadily dropped with more
capital flight. As of this update our ringgit it now at RM3.61 to USD1.
Malaysian Govt
Cuts Spending
The govt had to revise its RM273.9 billion dollar budget
and cut spending, specifically in operating expenditure. To do this they suspended
national service and reduced alot of 'operations procurement' which means less
corruption (hopefully)
Delay in
Electricity Tariffs
There was due to be a 6-month hike in prices for
electricity and natural gas but now it is postponed by 1 year.