Although the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) oil output fell in October, the international press has pooh-poohed any suggestion that it was the top producers, Saudi Arabia and Iraq, trying to boost prices.
Oh yes, said the Reuters data, the output cuts by these two oil giants had outweighed higher supply from African members.
But no deliberate supply cuts to prop up prices, sources in the survey said. And Opec is still pumping “close to a record high as major producers focus on defending market share”.
