OPEC Says No Plans for Production Cut
Based on this Reuters report, it appears that gas prices have pretty much stabilized for the winter.
OPEC oil exporters will not consider cutting production at next month’s meeting unless prices fall rapidly, the organization’s chief said on Saturday. “I don’t think there is an idea to cut production in our December meeting unless prices will be in a very bad situation,” OPEC President Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahd al-Sabah told reporters. The next meeting of OPEC oil ministers is in Kuwait in December. He said prices were now “more comfortable” after easing from record levels in August, though OPEC will probably keep its offer of 2 million barrels per day of spare capacity on the table.
The likelihood of a rapidly falling prices is virtually nil, virtually assuring us of a stabilized, if not cheaper gas prices. Here in St. Cloud, the price of gas at the pump dropped below $2 per gallon in a very long time.
Part of this stabilization can also be attributed to the winter pattern of not producing as many ’boutique fuels’. That frees up refinery capacity, which almost automatically triggers a price reduction. Either way, I’m just thankful that prices have dropped so sharply from their highs in the immediate aftermath of Katrina.
Cross-posted at BoxerWatch