The Saudis hoped to break the back of the fracking companies in the US (and have to some extent but not enough to really curtail production) and NOW they find themselves with the consequences of their actions which is a dangerous depletion of their capital reserves at the same time they are fighting a costly war in Yemen. Most of the other countries that they were discussing cuts with are in similar capital drains and cannot afford to cut production and risk further deterioration of their reserves (if any in some cases). They have painted themselves into a corner and unless they are collectively willing to take the pain (history has shown they are not) then we will see oil stay low for quite a while longer till the economic climate dictates that those nations hit with slowdowns need the oil again. 

http://money.cnn.com/2016/02/16/news/economy/oil-price-saudi-russia/index.html






 

Last edited by tennyson (2/16/2016 9:26 am)