, Columnist
OPEC+ Is Trapped in an Inflation Storm of Its Making
A barrel of oil just doesn’t buy as much as it used to.
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To understand the predicament OPEC+ is facing, start with a visit to an Ikea store.
A decade ago, if the Swedish furniture giant had accepted crude as payment, the oil cartel could have outfitted a good portion of the conference room where its ministers will be gathering on June 4 in Vienna — their first face-to-face meeting since the pandemic started — with a single barrel. Today, it wouldn’t even buy a humble bookcase.
It’s not just that oil prices have fallen 25% since late last year to $75 a barrel, but that relative to the price of manufactured goods oil is even cheaper.