, Columnist
OPEC's Conclave of Bluster and Inertia
Big debate on output won't produce a shift in policy
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Like an ageing incandescent lightbulb, OPEC's meeting on Thursday will produce a lot of heat and shed little light. At least it won't freeze.
Saudi Arabia will see little reason to change direction from the policy introduced in Nov. 2014. The kingdom set the group on a path of protecting market share in the face of rapidly rising U.S. shale oil production by refusing to agree to a lowering of its output target, and now the market is correcting itself through dwindling non-OPEC supply.