This week's In the News looks at the latest attempts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to curb record low oil prices. In an effort to lift prices from 1998 lows of ten dollars per barrel to eighteen dollars per barrel by April 1, 2000, OPEC ministers agreed to limit oil exports by 2.1 million barrels per day at a March meeting in Vienna. The so-called Hague pact includes non-OPEC producers in Mexico, Norway, Russia, and Oman, and if all nations comply, the world oil market should shrink by 2.6 percent. Although the decision has increased optimism among American oil producers, skeptics question whether or not economically depressed countries like Russia can afford the cuts. According to Mehdi Varzi of finance house Dresdner Kleinwort Benson, however, "if [OPEC] gets 75 percent compliance it's very good news for oil prices." The seven resources discussed provide news, analysis, financial data, and background information on falling oil prices.
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