Saudi-Venezuela OPEC Split Plays Out Behind Closed Doors

And with that, the push for a cut, which would require unanimous backing, was shot down, leaving OPEC’s daily output target at 30 million barrels and triggering a 10 percent collapse in prices by the next day. The disagreement cements the formation of two camps that had been brewing for weeks within OPEC: the financially strapped nations pleading for a cut to trim the supply glut and boost prices, and the fiscal powerhouses willing to withstand lower prices in a bid to get U.S. shale drillers to curb their expansion.  “There are the ones in OPEC who want a supply cut, and to see prices to rise immediately, but can’t do much about it,” said Eugen Weinberg, head of commodities research at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt. “And there are those who can do something to boost prices, but don’t want to until their goals are met, and so they wait.” More…