What happens if they cut output?
Cutting oil production is a joke. The world has ganged up on mortgage fraud, it's not going to be held hostage by a bunch of beduins who were "enjoying" $40 a barrel oil no more than two and a half years ago.
We''l retest the highs of last year this week--which we've already declined to $78 overnight, and we'll blast through that for the next month down to $65 then $60 as the world goes into proclaimed downturn that has its roots in mortgage fraud.
It'll take two quarters to show traction--the pop in mortgage REQUESTS has nothing to do with the number of mortgages GRANTED, the process of GRANTING loans is being strangled on the credential side of the ledger.
Until banks learn to lend bridge loans on sales, instead of assets carried by the firms, business will dry up with a dismal XMAS season, people will substitute electrostatic heating with $100 heaters for oil, just to spend something else than filling AL-KAIDA's pockets with oil loot.
The American people are pissed off, and we consume a spitload of oil, and China, which is growing, may pick up some of it, but US is 60% of THEIR business too.
They may be able to reflate housing or stop the blood letting, but it will take 18 months to get out of this Depression, even with $5T of the world's printing press money chasing it.