Opec

OPEC decided Friday against pumping more oil in a rebuff to Washington, a prelude to possible cuts as early as next month should the wounded U.S. economy lessen demand for crude. The decision arrived despite U.S. urgings -- backed by other major consumers -- for more oil on the market to cool prices and relieve inflationary pressures that have contributed to fears of a global economic downturn. In New York futures trading, light, sweet crude for March delivery fell $2.79 to $88.

OPEC controls 40% of the world's oil production, but Friday the cartel was just one more hoarse voice on the trading floor, straining to be heard above the din of another day of steep stock market declines. After an emergency gathering in Vienna, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries announced plans to cut production by 1.5 million barrels a day in a bid to stabilize prices. Light, sweet crude, the U.S.

They must have been out of kitchen sinks in Algeria on Wednesday because OPEC threw everything else to try to halt the unprecedented slide in oil prices, pledging to cut production a record 2.2 million barrels a day on top of two previous reductions since September and issuing an invitation to Russia, the world's No. 2 oil exporter, to play along. It didn't work. January oil futures dipped below $40 a barrel for the first time in more than four years, trading as low as $39.

Tiny oil producer Ecuador is considering rejoining the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries in a political move even though the cartel's quota system may stymie the poor South American nation's own industry. With its daily output of 530,000 barrels a day, only about 5% that of OPEC heavyweight Saudi Arabia, Ecuador would have little sway in the group, which supplies more than 30% of the world's oil.

OPEC decided Thursday to stick to existing output levels while paying more attention to curbing overproduction -- a decision that could push prices higher by taking as much as 700,000 barrels of crude a day off world markets. After the decision by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, light, sweet crude for April delivery slipped 9 cents to $58.07 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

OPEC members will not announce an increase in oil production at this weekend's summit, Saudi Arabia's oil minister said Tuesday, suggesting oil prices are likely to stay around $100 a barrel. Speaking to the Financial Times, Ali Naimi said, "There will be absolutely no discussion" of a production increase when the meeting convenes in Riyadh, the Saudi capital.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Sunday that OPEC's members have expressed interest in converting their cash reserves into a currency other than the depreciating U.S. dollar, which he called a "worthless piece of paper." His comments at the end of a rare summit of OPEC heads of state exposed fissures within the 13-member cartel -- especially after U.S. ally Saudi Arabia was reluctant to mention concerns about the falling dollar in the summit's final declaration.

Oil futures fell Wednesday to their lowest level in six weeks after a mixed government inventory report failed to offset a belief that supplies were growing faster than demand. Investors shrugged off OPEC's decision to keep production levels steady, a possible sign that prices had peaked for the year, analysts said.

OPEC is unlikely to cut production when ministers gather Tuesday in Vienna to decide on oil policy, analysts and oil ministers said, as worries over disruptions of supplies from Nigeria and possibly Iran hang over the meeting. Iran, which has been under international pressure over its renewed nuclear program, officially cites a buildup of excess supply as the reason for a cut. Venezuela, which consistently argues in favor of defending high oil prices, has said it would support such a move.

OPEC decided Tuesday to keep production of crude oil steady, saying its current output was enough to fuel an energy-hungry world as Iran pledged that it would not withhold its oil because of a standoff with the West over its nuclear program. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said the market was well supplied and reiterated that high prices had been caused by refining bottlenecks and other factors. One of those factors has been worry over Iran, which exports more than 2.