OPEC Says `Thank You' as Dollar Tempers Oil Drop: Chart of Day

By Alexander Kwiatkowski

Sept. 15 (Bloomberg) -- OPEC members' dismay at the 30 percent plunge in oil from July's record has been tempered by the rising value of their dollar revenues from selling crude.

The CHART OF THE DAY plots the drop in the price of October crude oil futures since reaching a record $148.13 on July 11. The upper line shows the oil price adjusted to reflect the 13 percent increase in purchasing power delivered by the dollar's gain against the euro in the same period.

``Despite all the rhetoric, with the rally in the dollar index, OPEC is still saying `thank you very much,''' Olivier Jakob, managing director of Petromatrix Gmbh in Zug, Switzerland, said. ``For OPEC, $80 now is the same as $100 two months ago.''

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries' oil revenues will rise to a record $1.23 trillion this year, almost double 2007's level, the U.S. Department of Energy said on Sept. 11. Saudi Arabian oil minister Ali al-Naimi, who sets energy policy in OPEC's largest exporter, said last week that the rising dollar was compensating producers for lower prices.

To contact the reporter on this story: Alexander Kwiatkowski in London at akwiatkowsk2@bloomberg.net