North Sea Oil Global oil markets have become volatile once more as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) announced on August 8 that they will hold informal talks during the September meeting of the International Energy Forum in Algeria. Initial speculation centered on recent moves by cartel members including Kuwait, Venezuela, and Ecuador to re-impose caps on output to force a rise in prices. Acting on this suspicion, Brent crude prices spiked to over $45 per barrel before beginning to settle back. This initial reaction to the announcement of the September OPEC meeting is premature, however. There are several reasons why it is unlikely any action will be taken by OPEC at the meeting to restrain output. Nevertheless, continued speculation prior to the meeting in late September will likely hold oil prices above $40 per barrel for now. 1. U.S. production higher than expected On Wednesday, the U.S. […]