Opec's most acrimonious meeting in decades broke up in disarray on 8 June with ministers failing to decide on a production agreement. Vehement opposition by six Opec members thwarted efforts by Opec's core Arab Mideast Gulf producers to raise output, raising serious doubts about the ability and willing- ness of the organisation to cap rising crude prices and bal- ance the market. Opec's failure to agree means the end to its out-of-date production ceiling of 24.845mn b/d and a six-month break in its fractured quota system. The meeting's bitter break-up caused confusion within Opec about what is left of its pro- duction policy.
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