The likelihood of rising oil prices dimmed after OPEC declined to put a cap on production at its latest meeting in Vienna on Friday.
Oil prices fell below $40 a barrel on the news that OPEC couldn’t come to an agreement on a production cap. Led by Saudi Arabia, the oil cartel has declined to cut production in the last year, even in a market flooded with oil. The strategy is intended to squeeze out higher-cost competitors, like U.S. shale producers. And it appears to be working.
U.S. oil production is falling, after hitting a peak in April. And across the West, the oil and gas sector has been shedding jobs—5,000 since last October in Wyoming alone.
Consumers are enjoying the windfall from low oil prices though, with gas averaging just $2 a gallon nationwide.