Tumbling oil prices costs Opec dear

20/11/2008

The recent slide in oil prices has cost members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) an estimated $700 billion (£467 billion) to date, the cartel's president has claimed.

Chakib Khelil has told the Algerian paper El Khabar that the global downturn is of great concern to Opec members.

According to the BBC, he commented: "All members... are very concerned about the economic situation which has worsened in the United States and Europe who have entered into a recession, followed by Japan."

Despite the dramatic slump in oil prices, he said that it is unlikely that Opec will enact another supply cut this month, adding that it will wait until data is available to assess whether its previous cuts have been implemented by its members.

At a meeting held in Vienna last month, the group ruled that a supply side restriction of 1.5 million barrels a day would be necessary to support collapsing prices.

The fall in the price has been broadly matched by a slump in heating oil prices, while other derivatives such as red diesel and DERV have also come down since the summer.