OPEC likely to hold fast next week

The next meeting of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), on 5^thJune, is set to be almost as closely watched as the previous one in November. The recent rebound in oil prices has taken some of the strain off OPEC members, but prices remain about 40% below their level this time last year and some countries are still calling for production cuts. What’s more, there has been much speculation about the potential for closer cooperation between the cartel and Russia. However, most comments from key OPEC ministers seem sanguine and it is not clear that even if they did cut their productiontarget, actual output would fall.