Oil falls as Saudis sit still, Venezuela panics

While Saudi Arabia seems - so far – unconcerned about the slide in oil prices, several other countries are becoming more worried. Nigeria and Russia's currencies have tumbled in recent weeks due to the impact it could have on their economies, but Venezuela is the most desperate to get prices up again. Venezuela's foreign minster Rafael Ramirez last month called for an emergency Opec meeting, but after that went unanswered he has now started a tour of other Opec countries to discuss the oil market. Venezuela gets about 95 per cent of its export revenues from oil, and is in dire financial straights. More…