The world's major oil producers have announced no immediate plans to cut output, keeping alive hopes of low petrol prices for motorists this Christmas.
The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Companies (Opec) said after its meeting in Cairo that it would wait until a conference in Algeria on December 17 to decide whether to reduce crude supplies.
So it could be that, as the RAC has predicted, UK drivers will be paying as little as 88p for a litre of unleaded petrol in late December.
But while low oil prices bring cheer to many, for Opec members they are a very different proposition.
In fact, for Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar and the UAE, the sudden collapse of the price of oil is something of a disaster.
According to research by Deutsche Bank, Venezuela needs to see oil at $95 a barrel to balance its current account. Even the oil titan Saudi Arabia needs oil at $54 to do the same.
Three months ago crude oil peaked at $147 a barrel; today it threatens to fall below $50. It's a fair bet that some Opec countries are pumping oil at a loss. read more
0 comments:
Post a Comment