Matthew Warburton Quotations

With market attention firmly focused on the forthcoming OPEC meeting, we expect oil prices will remain well supported given recent statements from member countries indicating a desire to curtail physical supply.

We've had some forceful statements from within OPEC. The possibility of OPEC releasing further oil in October under the price band mechanism prompted a degree of profit taking this morning.

Our economists are increasingly concerned about the impact of higher oil prices on the wider input cost issue within the U.S. economy, and how that feeds through into inflation and consequently impacts the Fed's decision on interest rates.

It's clear to us that the overproduction of OPEC members at the moment is more than sufficient to compensate for the loss of Iraqi volumes as they currently stand.