Hassan said the
current high oil prices would be sustained as long as there was demand
for the commodity, but added that the strong prices were not
necessarily a boon to Petronas as other factors such as the
strengthening ringgit also had a significant influence on its profits.
“We are more impacted
by the exchange rate (than the strengthening oil prices). Every 10 sen
movement against the (US) dollar impacts us by RM2 billion,” he said.
The ringgit has
strengthened considerably against the US dollar and is currently
hovering at the RM3.25 band. This is in contrast to about RM3.13 in
April.
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