Ishmael
JF-Expert Member
- Oct 18, 2011
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The oil cartel OPEC has lost control over the price of oil.
Saudi Arabian oil minister Ali Al-Naimi, however, does not seem to think Saudi Arabia or OPEC can really control oil prices anyway.
"No one can set the price of oil - it's up to Allah," he said Tuesday in an interview with CNBC.
Saudi Arabia and OPEC, the 12-member oil cartel of which Saudi Arabia is the most influential member, has insisted on maintaining its oil-production targets despite the recent decline in prices.
The cartel was long seen as setting the price of oil, which was at or above $100 a barrel for most of the past five years before prices slid nearly 50% in the second half of 2014. The slide really started to gain momentum on Thanksgiving Day last year when OPEC decided not to cut production. OPEC will meet again in June.
OPEC's decision and America's shale boom have increased global supply and are seen as the main catalysts for the decline in oil prices.
Read more: Al-Naimi says oil price is up to Allah - Business Insider
