Burned once, oil producers approach new price boom cautiously

Oil producers have wised up. More money is saved than ever before; more jobs are being created in the private sector; real estate and stock markets are booming; and governments are encouraging a diversification of their economies to move them away from oil’s increasingly volatile cycles.

..Analysts following the oil policies of Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries members say the group is seeking to defend a minimum price of $55 a barrel and, if needed, would be willing to cut production to maintain prices above that level. That policy, never voiced officially by any OPEC representative, is meant to avoid a repeat of the 1998 price collapse, which nearly bankrupted producers.

International Herald Tribune