VOL. XLIII

No. 37

11-September-2000

OPEC

Crude Price Conundrum: Saudis Can Hike Exports But Refiners Wont Necessarily Buy

Those market players who are looking for OPEC to hike exports dramatically when ministers gather in Vienna on 10 September are missing a vital point: there is plenty of crude oil available, but refiners are reluctant to buy it. A classic Catch-22 how can prices be controlled when traders and speculators have temporarily disabled the normal control mechanism- is at the center...