Members of the Organisation fo the Petroleum Exporting Countries (opec) seemed in two minds when they met in Vienna on September 11th to consider changes to their production quotas. On the one hand, the oil price had fallen to its lowest level since March and later slipped below $64 a barrel. On the other, oil still costs more than it did when opec raised quotas to their present levels last year and twice what it did three years ago. In the end they resorted to a fudge: official quotas would not change, but members would be ready to cut output before they next meet if necessary.
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