One burden of world financial power that Saudi Arabia so far has escaped is worry about the day-to-day fluctuations of its own currency. The Saudi riyal (rhymes with gee doll) is rarely even seen by foreign money traders, and its value essentially is fixed by the Saudis themselves—quite puzzlingly. Though the riyal has
been revalued upward 14 times since October 1977, the total increase against the dollar has been only 7%, from 280 to 300.
The Saudis have gained little from that, except perhaps a heightening of the aura of prestige surrounding them in international money markets. The value of the riyal in...
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