Hugo Chavez and Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, neither of whom has ever demonstrated much economic sophistication, contended at the recent OPEC Summit that the weak dollar is at the root of high oil prices. "The dollar is in free fall, everyone should be worried about it," Mr. Chávez told reporters here. "The fall of the dollar is not the fall of the dollar - it's the fall of the American empire." During a news conference after the meeting, Mr. Ahmadinejad added: "The U.S. dollar has no economic value."While it is true that when the dollar declines relative to the euro and other currencies oil prices in dollars rise faster than in those other currencies, prices are determined by supply and demand. A move to price oil in terms of a market basket of other currencies or  in euros would not in itself affect the price of oil. Anti-Chavez Venezuelan blogger Miguel aptly summarizes the real issue:What really matters then, is what countries do with money...(Read Full Post)