Saudi Arabia tries to boost the oil price

This week brought talk of a Saudi effort to raise the oil price as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman replaced energy minister Khalid al-Falih with Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman.

Could oil go to $25 per barrel? Reuters reported this week that Russia's central bank is not ruling out a plunge in oil prices next year because of weakening global economic growth, which lowers energy demand. Brent crude is down by almost a quarter since hitting $84 a barrel in October 2018.

However, this week brought talk of a renewed Saudi effort to raise prices. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman abruptly replaced energy minister Khalid al-Falih with royal half-brother Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman.

Subscribe to MoneyWeek

Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE

Get 6 issues free
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/mw70aro6gl1676370748.jpg

Sign up to Money Morning

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Sign up
Markets editor

Alex is an investment writer who has been contributing to MoneyWeek since 2015. He has been the magazine’s markets editor since 2019. 

Alex has a passion for demystifying the often arcane world of finance for a general readership. While financial media tends to focus compulsively on the latest trend, the best opportunities can lie forgotten elsewhere. 

He is especially interested in European equities – where his fluent French helps him to cover the continent’s largest bourse – and emerging markets, where his experience living in Beijing, and conversational Chinese, prove useful. 

Hailing from Leeds, he studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the University of Oxford. He also holds a Master of Public Health from the University of Manchester.