| Middle East oil exporters are flooded with cash from high oil prices and spending big chunks of the windfall at home, and one potential repercussion has widespread implications for the financial markets: Saudi Arabia and others need high oil prices to balance their budgets.
How high, though, seems to be a point of disagreement between the Saudis and outside observers. In a report last September, International Monetary Fund staff figured the break-even price at $80 per barrel in 2011 and said it would rise to $98 per barrel by 2016. By comparison, OPEC reported the average price for its crude was $107.46 last year...............................................Full Article: Source
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