Oil consumers, producers talk but do they listen?

DOHA – The world’s oil producers and consumers agreed on Sunday record $75-a-barrel crude was a danger to everyone, but appeared further apart than ever in their quest to bring prices down.

Oil raced to an all-time last week as
Iran continued to defy world pressure to halt its nuclear program, a quarter of Nigeria’s output lay idle after rebel attacks and
Iraq’s once considerable oil industry was mired in crisis.

Consuming nations — from top energy user the United States to the emerging economies of Africa — are afraid high energy costs will drive up inflation and cut growth. Producers fear a collapse in oil demand.

There are splits over how to pull prices away from their inflation-adjusted high of above $80, touched in 1980, the year after the Iranian revolution. Consumers want more oil. Producers want to be sure investing in new fields will pay off.

Reuters