Be Thankful

OPEC Won’t Cut Oil Production

Gas prices will keep falling.

Prices at the pump look set to continue their recent falls after members of the OPEC oil cartel decided not to cut output following a five-hour meeting in Vienna on Thursday. The global price of oil fell another $1.89 on the news, to $75.86 a barrel. Back in June, prices were as high as $115 a barrel. Prices at the pump this Thanksgiving were an average of $2.81 a gallon in the United States, 46 cents less than this time last year. The average price at Thanksgiving in 2009, the last time fuel cost less, was $2.63, according to AAA. The drop in oil prices has been driven by the U.S. fracking boom, although OPEC still accounts for a third of the world’s oil sales. OPEC issued a statement after the meeting claiming that the ministers “in the interest of restoring market equilibrium” had decided to maintain the current production ceiling of 30 million barrels a day. “As always, in taking this decision, member countries confirmed their readiness to respond to developments which could have an adverse impact on the maintenance of an orderly and balanced oil market,” the statement said.