OPEC oil cartel keeps output steady

OPEC oil ministers on Thursday avoided the temptation to cut crude production and trample on the seedlings of economic recovery. Instead, they bet on prices floating higher as the recession eases and demand for oil picks up.

VIENNA (AP) — OPEC oil ministers on Thursday avoided the temptation to cut crude production and trample on the seedlings of economic recovery. Instead, they bet on prices floating higher as the recession eases and demand for oil picks up.

With the world oversupplied with oil, Thursday’s meeting of the 12-nation oil producing cartel could have opted to tighten the spigots — an option it has often exercised to raise prices in past times of anemic demand.

A statement from OPEC noted that worldwide oil inventories at the end of last month were at a 20-year high.

Tags: us business, business, oil, opec

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