OPEC’s Ability to Influence Prices

VIENNA, Austria (AP) — OPEC’s credibility as a force with enough pull to bring down stubbornly high oil prices was on the line Tuesday as oil ministers began arriving ahead of a key meeting in Vienna this week.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries — beset by prices hovering around US$53 a barrel — is expected to raise its daily output ceiling by 500,000 barrels to an official quota of 28 million barrels per day when it meets on Wednesday.

But key officials and industry analysts can’t help but wonder: What’s the point?

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