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OPEC Rejects Idea Of Cutting Production

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has rejected the idea of cutting production to ease world gas prices. With oil hovering around $60 a barrel in the United States, OPEC says that a surplus will only help insure low prices in case of political instability or terror attacks.

Wachovia`s Jason Schenker, an economist, said "The tangible, physical disruption of Nigerian supply has propped up prices over the past few weeks. That`s a big deal. And then we just saw prices shoot up again over Iran."

Kuwait`s oil minister, Sheik Ahmed Fahd Al Ahmed Al-Sabah, insists, "We at OPEC are trying to keep the oil price below $60 a barrel." Mohammed al-Hamli, oil minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), says the 11-nation cartel`s output was "already adequate." However, according to reports, many OPEC members repeatedly have said that prices are optimal in the $40-$50 USD range.