Middle East Economic Survey

VOL. LII

No 22

1-Jun-2009

OPEC Ministers Maintain Oil Output Target, Naimi Optimistic About Market Recovery

OPEC ministers, meeting in Vienna on 28 May, brushed off concerns over swelling global oil inventories to keep their 24.845mn b/d output ceiling unchanged. Downside risks remain considerable, ministers conceded, but a cut was difficult to justify given both the fragile state of the economy and rising prices. WTI broke through the $65/B mark in the wake of the...