OPEC delegates are scheduled to meet in Vienna on Friday and all signs point to the cartel maintaining current output levels. Crude prices have recovered from their mid-$40 lows over the past few months to currently sit at around $60 per barrel (WTI).

Though countries like Iraq, Iran, Venezuela, and to a lesser degree Libya are still hurting from the existing output levels – all of them are lobbying for a production cut between 800,000-1,500,000 barrels per day – King Salman of Saudi Arabia has the will and the means to hold the line in the cartel. Prices have stabilized of late and the Saudis are achieving their presumed goals, which means that current output levels are likely to be maintained.