BMI View: Taken at face value, the OPEC summit changes little in the oil market. Nevertheless, falling prices hint at widespread relief that tightness in the market will ease after Saudi Arabia decided against hastily cutting output to compensate for rising Libyan production. Given that the cartel expects higher non-OPEC supply to offset a small increase in demand, there appears to be little scope for a cartel-wide agreement on a production increase. That in turn increases the likelihood that OPEC will look to either lower its new production ceiling or put pressure on member countries to hue closer to their existing quotas when it meets in June 2012.
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