Analyst John Kemp asks, “if OPEC cannot act to defend the prices and revenues of its member countries, does the organization still serve any purpose?” John Kemp is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own LONDON, Dec 3 (Reuters) – The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) last week made no change to its production target despite a 40 percent slide in oil prices over just five months, causing some commentators to pronounce the cartel irrelevant. If OPEC cannot act to defend the prices and revenues of its member countries, does the organisation still serve any purpose? There is an assumption among some commentators that OPEC is only relevant and working if ministers can reach a production agreement in response to shifts in prices, and that strong disagreement is a sign of dysfunction. But the record suggests that ambitious production-cutting agreements are rare, rather than […]