Boom-bust cycle jerks reins out of Opec’s hands | The National

Boom-bust cycle jerks reins out of Opec’s hands | The National:

"From a low of US$9.10 per barrel in late 1998, oil prices escalated almost unrelentingly to $144 in July 2008, crashed below $34 in December in the financial crisis, rebounded to $128 in March 2012 on Middle East geopolitical turmoil and have now slumped again to around $36.

During this period, Opec was allegedly managing the market. If this is stability, what would instability look like?

A provocative new paper by Robert McNally of Columbia University argues that Opec’s market management role did not end with the recent rise of US shale oil. He concludes that the producers’ organisation has not effectively stabilised prices since 2004, except for a brief period during the financial crisis."



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