When the price of oil touched a record $145 a barrel in July 2008, oil exporting countries were reasonably amused. However, in less than six months, it had fallen 75% and now OPEC members are jittery. Being oil revenue their mainstay, drastic fall of oil prices had pushed many of their budgets into deficits. Since OPEC does not control oil prices, it decides production quotas for each member. Unlike in the past, prices have been falling despite production cuts. Amidst global slowdown, production cuts are no longer influence oil economies, but demand is the deciding factor as the fall in demand is much faster than production cuts. For instance, oil demand reduced 8% in the US, the largest oil consumer where economic recession is the deepest.

The Analyst Magazine, Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, Global Economic Recession, Gross Domestic Product, GDP, International Energy Agency, IEA, Economic Development, Energy Information Agency, EIA, World Banking Crisis.