State of Play: Saudis Boost Oil Production

A hastily arranged oil summit held this weekend in Saudi Arabia yielded few results. Oil ministers from 35 nations failed to reach an agreement about how to ease soaring global oil prices. Even Saudi Arabia’s decision to pump 200,000 more barrels per day was greeted with a yawn in financial markets, where prices rose modestly after the announcement.  Oil producing countries blamed speculators for rising prices but importing countries including the United States say more supply is needed to meet worldwide demand. 

Most major media outlets portrayed the summit as largely ineffective.

Saudi summit on oil offers little relief (Houston Chronicle)

Agreements Elusive at Oil Talks in Saudi Arabia (The New York Times)

Oil Trading Volatile Despite Saudi Output Pledge (The Washington Post)

Saudis Promise More Oil to Curb World-Wide Fears (The Wall Street Journal)

Saudi Vows Fail To Knock Down Oil Prices (CBS News)

Oil prices rise despite Saudi output pledge (Los Angeles Times)

Oil prices rise despite Saudi vow to pump more (MSNBC)