If only we paid in Euros
Oil prices won't fall, OPEC says
By Associated Press | January 31, 2005
VIENNA -- Consumers received no solace yesterday from OPEC, which said oil prices near $50 per barrel would remain high through the spring, even as the cartel decided to keep its production ceiling unchanged.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries' current quota of 27 million barrels a day was set in December, when it agreed to shave output by 1 million barrels. But the 10 members of the group subject to the quota -- Iraq is not bound by a limit -- have been overproducing by a total of 500,000 barrels daily.
Kuwaiti oil minister Sheik Ahmad Fahd al-Ahmad al-Sabah, who leads OPEC, said he has permission to conduct a phone meeting before the next gathering, on March 16 in Iran, to address output if market conditions warrant. Al-Sabah said prices have been driven higher amid fears of a cold winter in Europe and North America, where demand for heating oil is high. He said OPEC's decision was aimed at bringing more stability to the market.