LOW oil prices hurt energy producers; they may hurt financial markets too.

For years, energy windfalls were large enough to give major oil-producing nations surplus cash. Exporters accumulated foreign exchange reserves and put money into funds which aimed at stabilising economies, paying pensions or just earning a return on investments. The total assets under management of these "petrodollar" investors increased by US$2.5 trillion between 2009 and 2014, according to Citi analysts' calculations.

But the direction of cashflow has changed. The halving in oil prices between June 2014 and January 2015 has left energy producers with a cash shortfall. So for the first time in nearly two decades, they are more likely to dip into savings than to add to them, BNP Paribas analysts forecast.