All Eyes On Jiddah Producer/Consumer Summit

Energy ministers from both producer and consumer countries, heads of oil majors and senior politicians, including UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Chinese Deputy President Xi Jinping, were set to attend an emergency summit in Jiddah on 22 June to address the worsening global energy crisis. The response to Saudi monarch King 'Abd Allah’s initiative underlines both the severity of the current oil price squeeze and the Kingdom’s hydrocarbon clout. Both the US and the UK have cautioned against expectations of any immediate action that will ease prices in the short term. “There won’t be any immediate impact on prices. There are no short-term magic wand solutions, you’ve heard us say, on prices,” White House spokesman Tony Fratto told reporters. The relatively modest price response to clear indications of a Saudi output increase... [read full story]