... global oil demand has taken up most of the slack in extra OPEC capacity. Consumption is now believed by many analysts to be pressing up against the limits of what the world can produce. Saudi Arabia is the only country believed to have any surplus production left, and even then the Saudis are pumping close to 90 percent of capacity, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
"There is not much we can do," Algerian Oil Minister Chakib Khelil told reporters Tuesday in Isfahan, Iran, the site of Wednesday's meeting.
"OPEC has done all it can do." Qatar Oil Minister Abdullah al-Attiyah said. "This is out of the control of OPEC."
- Is this it? Meanwhile, crude oil prices have reached a new record of $58.57 per barrel. $60 oil beckons. If $60 is broken, the next higher levels are in the $70's and $80's, where "demand destruction" (translation: economic collapse) will start to kick in.