OPEC says wait & see on more cuts

The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries OPEC meeting in Vienna has decided against further cuts in production.

It had been suggested fresh cuts on top of those decided in September would be made to bolster the collapsed price of a barrel of crude, but OPEC now says the current cuts will last until a May review of the situation. Six months ago OPEC pulled over four million barrels a day from the market. OPEC Secretary General, Abdalla Salem El-Badri said: “We still have about 800 000 barrels a day to be reduced, and we have urged our member countries that they should comply. I know 100% compliance is impossible but I think close to 100% would reduce the overhang.” The International Energy Authority thinks the September cuts have been 80 percent applied, and the fall in price from its peak last year represents a trillion-dollar worldwide economic stimulus. In September prices fell as low as close to 32 dollars a barrel, but have since recovered to a shade under 50. Hard-pressed western consumers however have yet to see any significant changes at the pumps, but demand for the black stuff is expected to remain weak all year, so a return to the 140-dollar barrel apppears distant.More about: Oil market, OPEC

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